


Hangover

by dragontara



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Draco's Birthday Party, M/M, adding characters as they appear in the story, dreadful morning after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 09:37:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2224221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragontara/pseuds/dragontara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Draco thinks something might have happened at his birthday party last night, but he can't remember a thing. All he's got to go on is a pineapple in his bed, a ferret in the bathroom and a mysterious lightning bolt tattoo on his lower back…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Morning after

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CroatoanBeast](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CroatoanBeast/gifts).



> Written for Draco’s Birthday Party at Capitu's journal. The prompt by dracogotgame. Betaed by gusx217.
> 
> For my dear friend croatoandragon (on LJ), who celebrated his birthday about the same time when I started to write this story.  
>  
> 
> My fill at the party:
> 
>  
> 
> Draco looked around and noticed a parchment on the kitchen table. He picked it up and tried to recognise the unfamiliar handwriting.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _“We had a blast last night in Barcelona. Let’s do it again soon – if you dare. Hope you and Phil are alright. I had to lock him up in your bathroom to make sure he didn’t shred you to pieces while you slept. Next time we’ll try that in a cable car, okay? Get Phil a parachute. Friday okay for you?”_
> 
>  
> 
> Draco stared at the parchment. Who had written this? Even more importantly, what the hell had he been doing in Barcelona and with whom?
> 
>  
> 
> And now, let’s go on with the story…

 

Draco groaned. Judging by the enormous hangover he was suffering from this morning, last night must have been spectacularly fun - or at least he hoped so. If he only could remember something about it. He was in no condition to find out what happened right now, so maybe it would be best if he acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. They’d been celebrating his birthday and that’s all.

 

Draco was just contemplating how to approach his now very ferreted bathroom to have a much needed bath, when he heard a firm knock on his front door. Cautiously he opened the door to find his immaculately dressed father waiting outside with a disapproving look on his face.

 

“Good afternoon, Draco. I assume you had fun at your birthday party last night?”

 

“Morning, Father. Yes, I had fun. What brings you here today? Has something happened?” Draco asked, alarmed at his father’s cold demeanor.

 

“Yes, you could say that. Care to explain this?” Lucius handed him The Daily Prophet.

 

“Today’s paper? I haven’t read it yet.”

 

“I thought so. Now, if you’d be so kind and read it. I’m waiting for explanation.” Lucius glared at his son and moved to the sofa and sat down. His fingers thrummed the armrest impatiently.

 

Draco opened the newspaper, but the front page didn’t reveal anything he should know about. He was about to leaf through the paper, but didn’t get further than to page 2 where he found it.

 

 _“MALFOY HEIR GETTING MARRIED!”_ The headline screamed. Right under the headline was a photo of Draco with his arm wrapped around… Ron Weasley! What the hell?! As if that wasn’t enough, Draco’s lips formed the words _‘I love you’_ as he looked at Weasley. Draco was horrified. That was impossible!

 

Horrified, Draco glanced at his father, who waved his hand toward the newspaper. “Read the whole article, Draco. Then we will discuss.”

 

A dreadful feeling settled in his stomach, but Draco read the whole article. Fortunately it wasn’t long, but it was definitely long enough to upset him. Now he understood perfectly why his father was visibly angry.

 

_“The heir of the once respected and famous Malfoy family, Draco Malfoy, was seen last night at his 25th birthday party at the new popular wizarding club The Black Sphinx. Malfoy had reserved the whole upper floor of the club for his party. The guest list was remarkable with several celebrities attending the party. One thing that made the Malfoy party very interesting and stand out from other similar parties was that along with Malfoy’s closest friends, some surprise guests joined the party later that night. The surprise guests were none other than three of the Weasley brothers; Ronald, Fred and George._

 

_The Weasleys are a well known pure-blood wizarding family, who helped Harry Potter defeat He Who Could Not Be Named, but they have always been known to hold grudges with the Malfoy family. Needless to say that even your beloved journalist Rita Skeeter was surprised to see the three Weasley brothers attending the party, and the birthday boy Draco Malfoy embracing them rather amorously. Malfoy also announced his plans of marrying a Gryffindor and moving out of the country. Unfortunately Malfoy never elaborated about which one of the Weasleys he meant to marry, but as we say at the Prophet, one picture is worth a thousands words. The Daily Prophet is the first one to congratulate Draco Malfoy and Ronald Weasley, and will be the first to report more information on their upcoming bonding ceremony.”_

 

Stunned, Draco stood in the middle of his sitting room, staring at the paper. His already throbbing head from the hangover turned much worse making him nauseous, and he lurched toward the loo just in time to throw up everything he had in his stomach. This was the worst kind of nightmare and he had no idea how to get out of this mess he had obviously created by himself. 

 

He desperately hoped that the Prophet article was only their usual gossiping and false information. But the photo seemed real. Had he really announced that he was going to marry a Weasley? That couldn’t be true, it simply _couldn’t_! Even if he had been horribly drunk, he’d never even think of marrying any of the redheads, even if they recently had slowly began forming a tentative truce. Sometimes the Weasley twins were even fun and good company. But Ron? Never. He had to find out what happened last night and clear up this horrible mess. First, though, he had to face his annoyed father. That might be even scarier than facing all the Weasleys at the same time.

 

Draco cleaned himself up a bit and braced himself before coming out from the loo and going back to the sitting room to meet his father. Lucius was pacing in front of the window, his back and shoulders rigid. That was never a good sign, and Draco had to force his head high, hands steady and a blank expression on his face to confront his father.

 

Lucius turned to face Draco and his eyes were piercing as he scrutinized his son.

 

“Now, Draco, if you are quite finished with stalling, I want to hear what’s going on.”

 

Draco swallowed and took a seat in the armchair across from the sofa where Lucius had been sitting earlier, gesturing for his father to take a seat, too.

 

“Father, you know Skeeter and the lies she always writes. I honestly don’t know where she got the idea that I’m going to marry anyone, not to mention a Gryffindor. That’s an outrageous lie. We only had a birthday party last night. Skeeter must have been spying on us and of course she drew a wrong conclusion about something she saw there.”

 

“What about the photo? I think that showed rather clearly what happened. Weasley? Really, Draco. I thought you had better taste in friends,” Lucius sneered.

 

“I wouldn’t call my relationship with the Weasley’s a friendship. I don’t even know what they were doing at my party last night. I certainly didn’t invite them,” Draco argued.

 

“Are you saying that you were too drunk to remember what you did last night? I thought that I raised you better than that! Never get yourself in a situation where you can’t control yourself or what happens around you, especially if there’s press around!” 

 

“There wasn’t supposed to be any press around, Father. Yes, I probably drank too much last night, but I was supposed to be surrounded by my friends. We were not trying to cause any scandals, if that’s what you mean,” Draco groaned and buried his face in his hands.

 

“Well, you have caused a scandal now, and Mr Greengrass is furious. He contacted me this morning, refusing to continue our negotiations for the marriage contract between you and his daughter, until this scandal is sorted out.” Lucius’ voice was cold and disappointed. “You made a serious mistake, Draco, and you better sort this out quickly, or your future will be ruined.”

 

“Why don’t you and Mr Greengrass take my word that I haven’t promised anyone to marry them?”

 

“Because you clearly weren’t in any condition last night to be a reliable witness at what happened at your party. I suggest you either get a written statement from Weasley that you haven’t proposed to him, or have at least two different witnesses who can testify that you haven’t proposed to him. If there’s so much as one drunkenly spoken proposal, that’s a commitment in the wizarding world and you know it. That kind of mistake could cost you your future as one of the most respected people in our society. Fix it, Draco. Greengrass gave you 24 hours to sort it out.”

 

“But Father, I…” Draco huffed, but was interrupted by Lucius and his intimidating scowl.

 

“No buts. Fix it, Draco.” 

 

After his father had left, Draco sat in the armchair sagging and groaning in despair. What the fuck had happened last night? There was absolutely no chance he was going to ask any of the Weasleys to write him any statements. There had to be another way, and he was going to find it.

 

TBC


	2. The Ferret Named Phil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco thinks something might have happened at his birthday party last night, but he can't remember a thing. All he's got to go on is a pineapple in his bed, a ferret in the bathroom and a mysterious lightning bolt tattoo on his lower back…

“Blaise! I need to talk to you, right now! Blaise!” Draco’s voice was urgent, maybe even a bit panicked, as he tried to reach his best friend by Floo. Blaise’s Floo wasn’t locked, so Draco knew Blaise was home.

 

“Blaise! I know you are home, so don’t bother to hide from me,” Draco called, a bit louder this time. Finally Blaise’s bedroom door opened and a very disheveled and annoyed looking Blaise appeared in front of his sitting room fireplace.

 

“What’s so urgent, Draco? I was still sleeping!” Blaise was always grumpy in the morning, but this was even worse than usual.

 

“I need to talk to you, it’s urgent! I also need to take a bath. I’m coming through,” Draco decided, but Blaise stopped him, glancing nervously over his shoulder toward his bedroom.

 

“Bath? No! Draco, I… I’m not alone. Please go away. I’ll talk to you later, I promise. Now go!” Blaise all but shooed him away, and Draco resignedly left his Floo. 

 

Damn! Now he had to face the ferret problem by himself if he wanted to take a bath. And bath he would take, even if there was a fiercely hissing ferret defending it’s new territory in his bathroom. 

 

His first try to the bathroom this morning had ended in a stunned surprise as he had been attacked by a furious ferret, and he had to take a tactical retreat back to his bedroom. Now, though, he was better prepared and ready to take the rabid beast down. 

 

He had to rummage through his clothes for a while to locate his wand. Once he found it, he determinedly approached his bathroom door, wand ready in his hand. His hand might have been shaking a bit, but there was no one else here to witness it, so he ignored it.

 

Cautiously he slightly opened the bathroom door, pushing his wand inside first. He heard a loud hissing and snapping of the lethal jaws, and his movement stilled. He didn’t quite manage to pull his wand out before the sharp teeth snapped and yanked it out of his grip. Draco barely avoided his fingers being shredded, not by lack of trying on the beast’s side. 

 

Draco slammed the door closed and slumped to the floor, leaning against the bathroom door. Great. Now he was wandless, defeated by the bloody ferret and still without a bath. Now what?

 

Think. Think. Think. He chanted to himself, but his headache-muddled mind didn’t provide any new ideas. One thing was certain: he was not going to go into the bathroom without being heavily armed first.

 

His searching eyes landed on a large fish bowl Pansy had given him for his birthday. Maybe he could offer those stupid fish to the beast and hope that it would drown while trying to catch one. That was worth trying. But how to get the fish bowl into the bathroom without being attacked himself?

 

If only Goyle were here, then he’d order him to do the dirty work as always. Actually, where was Goyle? He remembered seeing him at his party, and usually after a long night out Goyle crashed on Draco’s sofa until morning. Not this time. Maybe he should Floo call Goyle and ask him to come over to help with the problem.

 

Draco jumped to his feet and went to the Floo, calling Goyle’s flat. At first no one answered the call, but Draco kept calling Goyle louder and louder, until Goyle’s flatmate came into the room.

 

“Malfoy, what the hell are you doing?”

 

“I need to see Goyle. Is he home?”

 

“No, haven’t seen him since yesterday. I thought he was with you?”

 

“He was with me last night, but I haven’t seen him since. Any idea where he might be?” Draco asked.

 

“No, not a clue.”

 

“Okay, I’ll try to find him. If you see him first, tell him that I was looking for him, okay?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Draco pulled his head out of the Floo and cursed. Where was Goyle when Draco needed him?

 

Next he tried to reach Pansy; not that she would volunteer to fight the ferret, but Draco desperately needed to talk with someone about last night. Pansy’s Floo was locked, so that meant that Pansy wasn’t home either. Where was everyone?

 

Draco groaned in despair. Now he had to deal with that little beast by himself. But how? He had no wand so he couldn't Stupefy or Petrify the bloody ferret. There was no way he could face the beast without a weapon of some kind, that was certain. Hoping that the ferret would fall asleep was only wishful thinking.

 

Then he remembered the Sleeping Draught he had in the drawer of his bedside table. That would make the beast fall asleep long enough so that he could retrieve his wand, if there was anything left of it after the ferret’s gnawing.

 

He had no idea what ferrets usually ate, but he decided that a piece of raw steak would be a safe bet. He fetched the steak from the kitchen, sliced the piece of meat open and drizzled the Sleeping Draught inside. If the ferret would eat the meat, then it would fall asleep immediately. Then Draco would have a free access to his bathroom.

 

Cautiously he slightly opened the door and quickly tossed the steak into the bathroom. The fierce hissing stopped abruptly and then… nothing. Encouraged by the silence in the bathroom, Draco carefully peeked inside. The ferret was lying on the floor, deep asleep.

 

Draco sighed in relief and picked up his wand from the floor. The blasted ferret had gnawed it; there were visible teeth marks all over the polished wood, but otherwise it seemed functioning. He cast an experimental Petrificus Totalus on the ferret, and the wand seemed to work just fine.

 

Seeing the ferret lying motionless on the floor, Draco didn’t waste time preparing the desired bath for himself. Then he quickly undressed and sank into wonderfully hot water. He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth caressing his sore muscles. Now that he thought about it, why were his muscles sore in the first place? He could imagine why his head was aching, but why were his thighs, lower back and arse sore as well? What the hell had he been doing last night that had caused it? He was sore just like after a particularly intense Quidditch match, but he couldn’t have been flying a broom last night. Drinking and flying didn’t go well together, and he knew better than to try if he was smashed.

 

Draco groaned and leaned his head back against the bathtub. Soaking in a hot bath was the best cure for a hangover, and a bad day in general. He heard an answering groan from the floor and stiffened. The ferret was asleep and Petrified, it shouldn’t be able to make any sounds!

 

Then the sound of claws scratching against the tiles approached and he heard a sniffing way too close to his left ear. Draco opened his eyes and for a moment he stared at the dark eyes of a white ferret. Panic took over and Draco launched himself out of the bath and ran out of the bathroom. He heard the beast following him and ran faster to the sitting room, hoping to distract the ferret somehow on his way. He was just glancing over his shoulder, when he bumped into something solid, and instinctively grabbed it to prevent himself from falling.

 

“Draco! What the hell are you doing?” Blaise’s amused voice asked.

 

“Blaise! Thank Merlin it’s you. Take care of the beast, will you?” 

 

“What beast? Oh, that cute little ferret? Since when have you had a ferret as a pet?” Blaise crouched and held his hand out for the ferret to take a sniff.

 

“That’s not my pet! I woke up and found that it had taken over my bathroom. It’s a vicious creature, and I want to get rid of it!”

 

“Aww, it’s cute, just look at it!” Blaise cooed and Draco forced himself to take a look at the beast. The ferret was practically purring against Blaise’s hand as Blaise scratched it behind it’s ears.

 

“What’s his name?” Blaise asked, not even sparing a glance at Draco.

 

“Phil, but I didn’t…”

 

“Phil? Why would you name a lovely little ferret Phil?”

 

“I didn’t! At least I don’t think so. Stop petting that beast and help me get rid of it before it kills me!” Draco snarled impatiently and barely resisted the urge to stomp his feet.

 

Finally Blaise glanced at Draco and grinned. “For Salazar’s sake, Draco, go put some clothes on! In case you haven’t noticed, you’re naked and dripping wet. What is the matter with you today?

 

Confused, Draco looked at himself and blushed in embarrassment. Blaise was right, he was gloriously naked, and rivulets of water were running down his body. He searched for something to cover himself, but didn’t find anything. Steeling himself, head high and back straight, he tried to save what was left of his pride and dignity, and walked out of the room.

 

“Hey, Draco, what’s that on your back? Did you get it last night?” Blaise called after Draco, and Draco had to check his back with his hand. It didn’t feel any different from before, maybe slightly warmer, so he went to look it in the mirror. 

 

There, on his lower back, was a lightning shaped tattoo. It was about the size of his palm, and located just above his arse crack. He brushed it with his finger, following the lines of the tattoo, and wondered from where had he gotten it. It felt like a magical tattoo, but other than the warmth, it didn’t feel any more sentient than a Muggle tattoo he had once seen on a Muggle-born bloke he had met at a club.

 

"Let me see it," Blaise asked as he approached Draco, who was admiring his souvenir from last night in front of the full sized mirror. Quickly Draco draped a towel around his hips to keep some of his almost completely lost dignity.

 

“Where did you get it? It looks like… ouch!”

 

“What? Blaise, what did you do?” Draco had felt an intense tingling in his tattoo when Blaise touched it with his finger, but that was all. Blaise, on the other hand, was sucking his finger as if it had burned.

 

“Your blasted tattoo gave me an electric shock! Who made it for you? That kind of tattoo can be dangerous!”

 

“Umm, actually I don’t know where this tattoo was made.”

 

“What do you mean, you don’t know? What’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?” Blaise’s voice turned serious. “You’d better tell me everything.”

 

Draco sighed. “Fine. Let me dress first. Go back to keep an eye on the beast. I will be there in a moment and tell you everything I know - which isn’t much.” 

 

For once, it took only five minutes for Draco to get dressed and join Blaise in the sitting room, where Blaise and Phil were cuddling on the sofa. Draco sat in the armchair to keep a safe distance from the little beast. He scowled at Blaise and Phil being so cozy on the sofa.

 

“What, are you jealous?” Blaise asked raising his eyebrows.

 

“Hardly. That little beast was trying to eat me for breakfast,” Draco grumbled, but couldn’t help feeling a stab of jealousy in his heart. After all, the ferret had been his first!

 

“Phil wouldn’t do that, would you, Phil?” Blaise cooed and petted the ferret. “You two just had a bad start for the day. Now, start talking.”

 

And Draco talked. He noticed Blaise’s amused expression as he listened to how Draco had woken up hugging a pineapple and then was attacked by the ferret in his bathroom. Then his expression turned interested upon hearing about the parchment, and finally irritated at hearing about Lucius’ visit and threat. Draco knew Blaise didn’t like arranged marriages, whether it was Draco being forced into one, or arranged marriages in general.

 

“Let me see the parchment, will you?” Blaise asked after Draco had finished his story.

 

Draco summoned the parchment from the kitchen, where he had left it, and handed it to Blaise.

 

“The handwriting isn’t familiar. This definitely wasn’t written by any of our friends. Who else did you spend time with last night?”

 

“You tell me, you were there too. Obviously I was too smashed to remember anything about last night,” Draco compained.

 

“I left when you started playing drinking games with the Weasleys. I warned you, remember?”

 

“You were boring.”

 

“I was right. Weasleys can hold their booze much better than you,” Blaise quipped dryly. “I still don’t know why you had to invite them to your party.”

 

“I didn’t exactly invite them, they somehow just happened to come with me when I returned back upstairs from the loo.”

 

“You were already horribly drunk then. Now, how did you end up in the Prophet hugging the youngest Weasley bloke and announcing your never ending love for him?”

 

“I can’t believe I did that, smashed or not. That’s repulsive. I want you to help me find out what happened,” Draco groaned and rubbed his face with his hands.

 

Blaise chuckled. “I should leave you to sort out your own mess just because you didn’t listen to me, but I have to admit I’m curious. Do you have any other clues other than Phil, the pineapple and the parchment? Oh, and your evil tattoo, of course. Have you asked any other of your guests or at least checked your pockets?”

 

“I don’t even know who stayed at the party late enough to know anything. Obviously the Weasleys stayed, but there’s no way I’m going to ask them anything. I tried to ask Goyle and Pansy, but neither of them were home when I called them. And there was nothing out of the ordinary in my pockets this morning. What are we going to do? I’m running out of time!” Draco was getting desperate and panic was creeping in again.

 

“Calm down, mate. I’ll help you. First we go get some breakfast, because I can’t think with an empty stomach. Then we should visit the crime scene. Get yourself ready. I’ll find something suitable for Phil’s leash and we’re ready to go.”

 

“Phil’s leash? Are you mad? I’m not going to take that beast with me!”

 

“You can’t leave him here alone either. He’s coming with us and that’s final. Go get yourself ready so we can start sorting this mess out,” Blaise ordered, and defeated, Draco did as he was told. At least now he had someone helping him to find out what the hell had happened at his birthday party. He just hoped that it wasn’t anything beyond repair.

TBC


	3. First peek into the night(mare)

After breakfast - or a very late lunch as the waitress so helpfully corrected - they headed for The Black Sphinx, where Draco’s impending social demise had begun the night before. The club looked far too innocent from the outside than what Draco suspected had happened in there the previous night. 

 

The club was still closed for the day, but after Blaise’s incessant pounding on the door, an annoyed looking young man opened the door. Curiously, Phil went to sniff the bloke’s leg, and caused the bloke to move backwards and start to close the door before it had even completely opened. 

 

“We’re not open yet. Come back later.”

 

“No, wait,” Draco called out, thrusting his foot between the closing door. “I need to speak with you!”

 

“Oh, it’s you. Hell of a birthday party last night, wasn’t it? What now, back for another round already?” The bloke grinned mischievously.

 

“No, nothing like that. Let us in, we need to talk about last night.” Draco said seriously.

 

Reluctantly the bloke let them in, but said that they had to speak while he worked. He had a club to open in a couple of hours, after all. 

 

He gestured for Draco and Blaise to take seats at the bar while he went behind the counter to arrange the equipment there. “Okay, speak. I don’t have much time.” 

 

“Yes, well… the reason we’re here is that we need to find out what happened last night. There have been some… unexpected repercussions,” Draco explained hesitantly.

 

The bloke laughed as he wiped the counter. “Oh yes, I see. I read the Prophet this morning. What do you want to know?” 

 

“What did you put into my drink last night that caused me to lose my memory?” Draco accused.

 

“Oh no, you can’t blame me for that. I warned you not to drink so many Devil’s Orgasms in a row, remember? Oh wait, that’s it, you don’t remember,” the bloke smirked. “Anyway, I refused to make you any more drinks, but you just made your friends to come and get you more to drink. And I don’t even dare think what you might have imbibed at Knotting Hill afterwards.”

 

Blaise fake coughed. “Told you!”

 

“”What was in that drink?” Draco asked faintly. He didn’t feel well thinking about last night’s drinking activities.

 

“What’s Knotting Hill?” Blaise asked at the same time, looking very interested. Trust Blaise to find the most important tidbits in the conversation.

 

“Devil’s Orgasm is our strongest cocktail. It contains Absinthe, Firewhiskey, Euphoria Elixir, Invigoration Draught, apricot juice and a secret ingredient. It’s a very strong cocktail, and we never make more than two per patron for one evening.”

 

“But I love apricot!” Draco exclaimed, his palate somehow still remembering the delicious taste of the drink even if his brain didn’t remember anything of the previous night.

 

“You should stick to plain apricot juice then, if you can’t hold the liquor,” Blaise grinned. “Hey, you didn’t tell me what Knotting Hill is? That sounds interesting.” Blaise looked hopeful and excited.

 

The club bloke had moved to the lounge area of the club to straighten the seats. “It’s a wizarding sex club in Notting Hill, where the birthday boy’s entourage was headed for after they left here. The Knotting Hill has a rather wild reputation.”

 

“Oh Merlin,” Draco groaned. His stomach churned at the mere thought of a sex club. Skeeter would have been ecstatic if she’d had any provocative material from there. And if Draco had been connected with a sex club in any possible way in public… well, let’s just say that Lucius would make sure that after the scandal finally died down, Draco would have lost all his connections with his own pride and manhood.

 

Draco shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. “Wait, how did Skeeter get in here last night? No press was allowed at my party!”

 

“I don’t know how she got inside. It was shortly before you left here. As soon as we noticed she was here, we threw her and her photographer out.”

 

“Did you see if she followed us when we left?”

 

“I don’t think so. Our bouncer made sure she left once and for all. Hey! Keep an eye on your pet. I don’t want it gnawing the furniture.”

 

Blaise grabbed Phil up in his arms as Draco continued to fish more information out of the club bloke.

 

“What time did I leave here last night and with whom?”

 

“You were the last ones to leave, because I had to shoo you out as we were closing up. That would have been about 2 am. It was only you, Miss Parkinson, Mr Goyle and four Weasleys leaving together.”

 

“Your must be miscalculating, there were only three Weasleys here last night,” Draco corrected.

 

“Three Weasley brothers and their cousin Barny. That makes four. Now, you better leave, I have work to do.”

 

The club bloke showed them out. Stunned at what he had heard and feeling his headache returning with every dreadful reveal from the last night, Draco rubbed his temples and pouted.

 

“Blaise, I don’t like this. At all. Please, Obliviate me.”.

 

“What? And miss all the fun? No way. As far as I know, you Obliviated yourself last night with all that drinking. Finding out what mess you’ve created is rather entertaining. Besides, your father told you to fix it, so stop whining and let’s move on.” Blaise was enjoying the whole situation way too much for Draco’s liking.

 

“But it’s just going to get worse from now on, I just know it! Who knows what we’ll find out next. Bloody hell, a sex club? And who the hell is Barny Weasley?” Draco grumbled.

 

“Never heard of any Barny Weasley, but if Skeeter is right - for once - he is one more Weasley you might have proposed to last night,” Blaise snickered.

 

“Sweet Merlin, please help me,” Draco groaned, but allowed Blaise to tug him along to their next destination. “At least now we know that Pansy and Goyle were still with us when we left here.”

 

TBC


	4. Spectacle at The Knotting Hill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Draco’s Birthday Party at Capitu's journal. The prompt by dracogotgame. Betaed by gusx217.

The Knotting Hill was an ordinary looking townhouse on a side street near Portobello Road. Although it was only late afternoon, the club was in full gear already.

 

“Welcome to Knotting Hill!” said a fit bloke dressed in only a loincloth at the reception area. After glancing down at Phil, he asked them to hand over their wands and Phil. Blaise clutched Phil against his chest and scowled at the reception bloke.

 

“I’m not giving you Phil! How dare you even ask such thing! Phil is our friend and he goes wherever we go!”

 

“I’m sorry, sir, but no pets are allowed in the club. I’ll take good care of it, I promise,” the bloke assured Blaise, who was seething in indignation.

 

“I can’t believe you have such an outrageous rule here. How about the pets you have in your club yourself? Surely you have something for animal kinks? Not that _we_ have such kinks and especially not with our Phil, but still?” Blaise argued, eyeing the bloke with suspicion.

 

Blaise argued valiantly, but eventually he had to allow Phil to stay with the bloke at the reception area. Blaise petted Phil long and thoroughly, explaining to him what was going to happen and promising to pick him up as soon as possible. Draco only rolled his eyes and tugged the crazy ferret fan along inside the club.

 

The club was dimly lit inside; only the stage, where two strippers were rubbing themselves against the dancing poles, was brightly lit. The interior of the club was a bit worn and shabby, the colour on the walls and seats were faded, but otherwise it seemed quite clean. The patrons sitting at the tables around the stage were lower class, Draco concluded. He sneered in disdain; this was nowhere near the tasteful and classy clubs he had visited before.

 

One of the waiters greeted them and showed them toward a table near the stage. Draco tried to object, but Blaise stopped him short. “While we are here, it would be a shame if we didn’t admire the view, right?” 

 

Draco gritted his teeth; he wanted to be out of here as soon as possible, but Blaise, of course, wanted to enjoy the show, even if this whole place made Draco squirm in discomfort.

 

They sat down at the table, and the waiter asked for their drink orders. Draco couldn’t stomach any drinks after last night and earned a scowl from the waiter. However, Blaise didn’t have such problems and he cheerfully ordered a Firewhiskey. 

 

When the waiter turned to leave, Draco stopped him. “Did you happen to work here last night?” 

 

The waiter blinked. “No, why do you ask?”

 

“Something happened here last night and I’d like to know what. Is there anyone here that also worked last night?”

 

The waiter hesitated. “I don’t think so. The night shift ended this morning. Why do you want to know? Are you from the Ministry?”

 

“No, not the Ministry. I just spent some time here last night and something happened. I need to know exactly what. It’s very important. Isn’t there anyone here that could help me find out about last night?” Draco asked, his patience starting to wear thin.

 

“Um.. I’ll get the manager, maybe he can help you.” The waiter left, disappearing to the back of the club.

 

A moment later a middle-aged man approached their table and introduced himself as the manager of the club. After hearing what Draco wanted to know, he looked dubious and reluctant.

 

“If you want to talk to our personnel from last night, you’ll have to wait until tonight. Their next shift starts at ten.”

 

“But that’s the problem, I don’t have time to wait!” Draco argued. “Don’t you have a surveillance system or something where I could see what happened here last night?”

 

“We have a surveillance spell activated inside the club, but that’s only for the authorities to use in case there’s a suspected crime or other incident they need to solve.”

 

“I want to see it,” Draco demanded.

 

“But…”

 

“I need to see it! This is a matter of life and death, and I need to see it now!” Draco’s voice was rising and the patrons of the nearby tables turned to look at them.

 

“No, that’s not possible. The authorities…”

 

Draco snapped. He was so close to seeing a big part of last night that he had no memory of, and he wasn’t going to let this man stop him. “Now you listen to me. If you don’t let me see the surveillance recording from last night at once, I will send the authorities after you! I’m sure they would find more than enough interesting things in here to close the club for good!”

 

Draco glared at the manager, who stiffened and swallowed nervously. After a long silence, the manager finally nodded jerkily and gestured for them to follow him to the back of the club. There was a small room next to his office.

 

“I’m going to allow you to see only your own part of last night’s activities. Wait here while I modify the spell for your use and fetch the Pensieve.”

 

The manager stepped out of the room and went to his own office. After a short while he returned, carrying a large Pensieve and a slender vial in his hands. He placed them on the table in the middle of the room where Draco and Blaise were seated.

 

“Here’s the recording from last night. For your own safety and privacy, the recording activates only by your own magical signature. You can see the recording in this Pensieve. It can accommodate two viewers at the same time, but if you don’t want your companion to see the recording, this is the time for him to leave the room.”

 

Draco glanced at smirking Blaise and considered if he really wanted his best friend to see the recording. There could be possible blackmailing material for Blaise to use in the future. Then again, Blaise could be a precious help when solving this irritating problem. That’s it, Blaise would be a better help if he saw what had happened. How bad could it be?

 

“We will watch it together,” Draco decided.

 

“Very well then. Just touch the recorded substance with your finger and it will activate for you to see. I’ll be in my office when you’ve finished.” The manager left and closed the door behind him.

 

Draco opened the vial and dipped his finger inside before pouring it into the Pensieve. Then he took a deep breath, ignored the nervous fluttering in his stomach and muttered, “Let’s do it.” Then, without waiting for Blaise’s reply, dipped his head into the Pensieve.

 

_Draco arrived at the club wrapped around an unfamiliar bloke who distantly reminded him of the Weasleys. He was slightly taller than Draco, had brownish-red hair and looked… not exactly handsome, but somehow interesting. The Weasley brothers were with them as well as Pansy and Goyle._

 

The bloke must have been Barny. Draco lifted his eyebrow at his own taste for the bloke he had chosen, but well, he _had_ been smashed. Pansy and Goyle had still been with them at the club, that was a relief.

 

_The others headed straight to the tables in front of the stage for drinks and to watch the show, but Draco and Barny went to the dance floor. They danced wrapped around each other like two octopuses for several songs, occasionally kissing and whispering to each other. Then, during an intense song, Draco started rubbing himself against Barny, and Barny seemed to enthusiastically return the favour. They seemed ready to move it to a private room, when Pansy stepped in and tugged Draco by his arm. What she said couldn’t be heard, but Draco’s response was loud and clear, “I don’t care, Pans! Fuck off!”_

 

_Pansy didn’t give up, and all but tore a loudly protesting Draco from Barny’s arms and dragged him to the back of the club, out of sight. Barny went to get a drink and joined their friends at the table._

 

_Several minutes later Draco reappeared, this time on the stage, pushing one of the strippers out of the way, and claiming the stripper pole nearest their table and Barny. Keeping his eyes firmly locked with Barny, Draco started a seductive dance. He slowly opened the buttons of his shirt one at a time and flirtingly let the shirt slide down his shoulders. He rubbed his crotch against the pole and showed off his flexible body bending so deeply backwards that his hair almost touched the floor. Then he moved on to open his trousers, slowly and teasingly rubbing his prominent erection with every other downward move of his hand. His hips swayed, arse wiggled and his obvious arousal made his audience fall completely under his thrall._

 

Draco swallowed and groaned at watching the show he’d put on last night. He was embarrassed at his own boldness and open lust he showed publicly toward a bloke, a Weasley no less. He didn’t think it could turn any worse, but the next scene made him want to close his eyes. “Oh sweet Merlin, no!”

 

_Dressed in only his black underwear, Draco came down from the stage and slowly approached Barny, hands seductively caressing his own body as if warming it up for a lover. Everyone else sitting at their table looked stunned, but Barny reached his arms out and pulled Draco into his lap, making him straddle him. Barny tried to kiss him, but he decided to give him a sexy lap dance first. He writhed, wiggled and rubbed himself against Barny so shamelessly that Goyle and Ron left the table looking very uncomfortable and went to the bar. Fred and George stayed seated and snickered at the show next to them._

 

_Draco and Barny had a heated snogging session going on, and just when it started to seem to be going too far even for a sex club, the twins suggested they move their activity to a more private place. Barny seemed more sober than Draco, so he grinned a bit embarrassed and tugged Draco with him, taking them out of the club._

 

Draco snapped his head out of the Pensieve, completely horrified. He was totally appalled at his own behaviour, but he had to admit that he had been quite sexy on the stage. And definitely a better dancer than any of the strippers had been. Feeling quite smug about himself, Draco grinned and lifted his gaze just in time to see Blaise smirking back at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

 

“Not a word, Blaise!” Draco warned, but Blaise’s grin only widened. Draco know he’d hear about it later. A lot.

 

“At least now you know it wasn’t Ron Weasley you might have proposed to last night,” Blaise snickered.

 

“Yeah, that would’ve been too much. His cousin isn’t much better though. Wait, Pansy didn’t come back with me last night after she dragged me back here. Where is she?”

 

Draco jumped to his feet and hurried out of the room. He looked around and noticed a back door to his left. They had gone in that direction last night!

 

“Wait, Draco, where are you going?” Blaise called after him, but Draco didn’t have time to answer him. Blaise would follow him anyway.

 

Draco opened the back door and peeked outside. There was a rather unkempt backyard with kegs and boxes stacked on both sides of the yard, and an old shed located in the back of the lot. There was no sign of Pansy, though. 

 

“Pansy?” Draco called out, just to be sure, but no one answered. 

 

He was just about to close the door, when he heard banging from the direction of the shed.

 

“Pans?” Draco called again and now he was greeted with more banging, this time enhanced with loud yelling. Pansy. Draco cringed and ran toward the noise.

 

He had to wrestle a bit with the shed door before he managed to get the bolt open, and then he had another problem to wrestle with: Pansy. She launched herself out of the shed screaming, kicking and hitting Draco wherever she could reach, and Draco had to cover his face to avoid getting any visible injuries.

 

“Hey, hey, what’s going on out here?” Blaise’s voice asked, and then Pansy’s attack ceased. 

 

Draco opened his eyes and saw Blaise holding Pansy tightly in his arms.

 

“That bastard I once called my friend locked me up in this ruddy shed last night! I didn’t have my wand and nobody heard my calls, so I had to spend the night in here! I hate you, Draco!” Pansy screamed and tried to kick Draco once more.

 

“I’m so sorry, Pans! I don’t know what got into me last night! I didn’t mean to lock you up in here, but you must have upset me somehow!” Draco tried to explain, but Pansy wasn’t having any of it.

 

“Upset you? Hah! You were so horny that you refused to listen to the voice of reason!” Pansy screeched.

 

“What can I say? I’m sorry, Pans! I don’t know what happened last night, but I promise it won’t happen again!” 

 

“I don’t know what happened last night, either, because _some arsehole locked me up in the bloody shed!_ How could you do that to me, Draco?” Pansy’s voice was trembling now, and Draco felt even worse for treating his friend so poorly.

 

“Come on now, you two, calm down. Let’s get Pansy somewhere warm and talk about it, all right?” Blaise tried to take the situation under control, and this time neither Pansy nor Draco fought him. They went back inside to fetch their belongings before taking Pansy back home.

 

“What in the name of Merlin is that?” Pansy asked staring at Phil, who joyfully jumped against Blaise in the reception.

 

Blaise chuckled. “It’s Draco’s new pet, Phil.”

 

“You didn’t have it last night, Draco!” Pansy stared at Draco and narrowed her eyes. “What the hell happened to you last night?”

 

“That’s what we’re are trying to find out, Pans,” Draco sighed.

 

“I knew that meddling with Potter was a really bad idea. I said so last night, didn’t I? But of course you didn’t listen to me!” Pansy snapped, snatching her wand from the reception bloke’s hand and marching to the front door.

 

“What… Potter? There wasn’t any Potter with us last night, Pansy!” Draco exclaimed and ran after her.

 

Pansy turned and glared daggers at Draco. “Yes, there was. That’s what I tried to tell you when you locked me up in the shed, Draco. I told you that Fred or George - I still can’t tell the difference - gave away that Potter usually disguises himself with a Polyjuice as their cousin Barny, when they go out together. You fooled around with Potter, and that’s why I wanted to stop you from doing anything stupid last night!”

 

Blaise burst out laughing. Pansy looked haughtily down her nose at them and turned to leave. Draco felt his nausea and headache returning with vengeance. Somehow everything had just turned even worse than he had thought possible.

 

TBC


	5. Truths and Dares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for Draco’s Birthday Party at Capitu's journal. The prompt by dracogotgame. Betaed by gusx217.

“So you don’t really remember a thing from last night, Draco?” Pansy asked as she lounged in her sitting room, wrapped in a warm blanket and sipping hot tea. She had calmed down after getting back home and felt a bit warmer.

 

“I really don’t remember a thing after what happened since I _started playing drinking games with the Weasleys_ , as Blaise put it. You were there as well, Pans. Please tell me the truth. What really happened? And why the hell does the Prophet have a picture of me and Weasley hugging?”

 

“Ah, that was a nice picture,” Pansy snickered and threw the newspaper at Draco. “It was one of the dares you did for the twins.”

 

“What dares? Why?” Draco was confused.

 

“When you kept losing every round of the drinking game, you wanted to pick dares to get even. You wanted to win the main prize really badly. One of the dares you accepted was to pose in front of Skeeter and announce you loved Weasley and wanted to marry a Gryffindor. I didn’t think you’d dare do that. My bad.” Pansy winced, but then laughed. “You should have seen Skeeter’s face, it was priceless!”

 

“Damn, I should have known I left too early! I missed all the good parts,” Blaise complained.

 

“You really did, Blaise. By the way, why did you leave so early? You mumbled something about meeting someone last night. Who was it?” Pansy asked.

 

Blaise blushed. “None of your business, Parkinson.”

 

“Whatever. You know I’m going to find out sooner or later anyway.” Pansy waved her hand nonchalantly.

 

“What else did I do, Pans?” Draco asked faintly, feeling ill. “And what was the main prize I was trying to win?”

 

“Not just trying, but you did win it, Draco dearest. You did more remarkable dares that I wouldn’t have thought you had in you. There was that picture dare that you did very well. Then there was that kissing dare. You had to kiss every bloke in there, although I noticed that you didn’t enjoy any of them as much as you did kissing Barny… er, Potter.”

 

“Obviously I did leave at a perfect time after all,” Blaise muttered.

 

Draco groaned, battling with himself whether he wanted to hear more or not. Then he decided that it was better to know everything, just in case. “Who did I kiss, Pans?”

 

“Let’s see… Weasley, Weasley, Weasley, Potter, Goyle, Nott, Potter, the bartender, Potter, the bouncer, Potter…”

 

“Stop! Enough!” Draco covered his ears. “I don’t want to hear more about the kissing dare. What else did I do for some ruddy main prize? That prize must have been incredibly good if I was willing to embarrass myself like that.”

 

“The prize was quite good, indeed. At least _you_ thought so. Hmm, what else did you do… Yes, well, you were rather good at tap-dancing on the table, even if you didn’t know what tap-dancing meant at first. Also, you made quite a show at imitating how you sounded when orgasming. Then, let’s see, you accepted the dare to undress Potter using only your teeth, but Potter refused that one. Then you offered to give him a blowjob instead, but I don’t know if you did that later without an audience. What’s next? Oh, and then Goyle…”

 

“Stop! Stop! I’ve heard enough. Please, Pansy! Just tell me, what was the prize I was going for?”

 

“Oh my goodness, I would have never thought I’d enjoy this so much. Just getting to tell you all this makes me almost forgive you for locking me up last night. Almost. Really, Draco. I think you would have claimed your prize, whether you’d won it or not. The main prize, my dear, was free access to Potter’s pants.”

 

“No no no no no no no,” Draco chanted, “I can’t believe this is happening. It can’t be true! You’re leading me on, Pansy!”

 

“I wish I were. I’m not that fond of Potter myself. Unfortunately you were quite smitten last night, told everyone how much you have fancied him since Hogwarts, and now that you had him, you were going to marry him and move to Barcelona.”

 

Draco buried his face in his hands and groaned pitifully. Had he spilled all his secrets last night? Wait, Barcelona? What was in Barcelona? Potter?

 

“Pansy, what do you know about Barcelona?”

 

“Why, what everyone knows about Barcelona, I guess. It’s in Spain by the Mediterranean, there’s Gaudi, fashion, shopping…”

 

“No, I mean what’s in Barcelona for me, if I wanted to move there?”

 

“Potter, of course. Although you didn’t know at the time that Potter also lives in Barcelona. They only told us that Barny lives there. I remember hearing once that Potter has a tattoo shop in Barcelona.”

 

“Ha! The evil tattoo on your arse!” Blaise exclaimed triumphantly. “I bet Potter did it to you!”

 

“What tattoo?” Pansy asked curiously.

 

“Thanks, Blaise, for outing it. Who else needs to know?” Draco snapped. “If you must know, Pans, I have a magical tattoo on my back…”

 

“On your arse,” Blaise interrupted.

 

“Back!”

 

“Arse!”

 

“On my lower back, all right? Stop interrupting, Blaise!” Draco all but yelled at his friend. “I must have gotten the tattoo last night.”

 

“The tattoo almost killed me when I touched it!” Blaise announced.

 

“Why on earth would you touch Draco’s arse, Blaise? You’re not gay,” Pansy inquired, looking amused and annoyed at the same time.

 

“Oh for Merlin’s sake, I can’t believe you two!” Draco complained and stood up. “You two are not any help. I’m going home.”

 

“But what about your father and the time frame he set for you?” Blaise hurried to ask.

 

“I’ll figure it out myself. Thanks for your help, but I can manage on my own from now on.”

 

Draco turned to leave, but Blaise stopped him once again. “What about Phil? Are you leaving him with me?”

 

“Good question. I’d rather leave him with you, but he might be some kind of a key for last night, so I better take him with me. Come along, beast.” Draco took Phil’s leash from Blaise and marched out of the door.

 

Draco didn’t want to risk his health and take Phil in his arms to Apparate them to his flat, so he decided a long walk would be best for them both. It took some time to get back home, and when the front door of his flat finally came into view, he sighed in relief. 

 

As they were approaching the front gate, a familiar large figure stepped from the shadows in front of them. Phil hissed and scurried behind Draco’s legs for safety. Draco felt a protective pang in his chest toward his little beast and stepped more firmly to cover him. Then he looked up to see who had scared his pet so badly.

 

“Goyle!” 

 

“Draco, there you are!” Goyle boomed and slapped Draco forcefully on the shoulder.

 

All of a sudden Phil started to dance and jump around, boisterously greeting someone who had stepped forward behind Goyle. Draco recognized him instantly. Potter. Of course. Draco didn’t know how to react, so he ignored him for now.

 

“Goyle, where have you been? We’ve been looking for you!”

 

“Er… I got arrested by Muggle police for dis… dis..”

 

“For disorderly behaviour. Hello, Draco,” Potter came to Goyle’s rescue.

 

“Uh… hello, Potter. Why was he arrested in the first place?”

 

“Maybe we should talk about this in a more private place. Can we go inside?” Potter asked and lifted happily bouncing Phil up in his arms. “Hello, Phil. Missed me already?”

 

Draco scowled, but allowed them to follow him inside. 

 

“So,” Draco started when they were all comfortably sitting down in his sitting room, Phil lounging in Potter’s lap. Seemed as if the little beast was purposefully ignoring Draco. “What happened to you, Goyle?”

 

“Muggle police arrested me, I already told you that!”

 

“Yes you did, but why did they arrest you?”

 

“For that dis… thing,” Goyle explained patiently, looking exactly like a person who was explaining something to a dim-witted child.

 

“For Salazar’s sake, Goyle! I already know that!” Draco snapped, his irritation taking over. “What _did you do_ that caused Muggle police to arrest you?”

 

“Oh, why didn’t you say so? I got into a fight with some Muggle blokes. They tried to rile me. I managed to get two of them down before the police came,” Goyle counted, visibly proud of himself.

 

“I should have known. What were you doing in Muggle London in the first place? You know perfectly well that it’s not safe for a wizard, especially when you’re drunk,” Draco asked wearily, rubbing his temples.

 

“I… er… I followed you and the Weasley bloke when you left the club, and got lost. Then I met those Muggle blokes and asked them if they had seen you, and they started to push me around.”

 

“And how does Potter fit into this story, Goyle? Were you fighting with him too?”

 

“No, of course not. Potter came to the police station and talked to the police and got me out of there. They asked me last night if I wanted to call someone, but how could I have called anyone when they took my wand from me? Strange blokes those Muggles,” Goyle explained.

 

“One of my Muggle friends works as a police officer. He knows about the wizarding world. When he went to work this morning, he instantly recognized Goyle as one of ours and called me. I thought it best to go and fetch him myself,” Potter explained, looking amused. “So here we are. I wanted to come with him to explain it to you, in case you were worried.”

 

“I was. Thanks for that, Potter. Goyle, you stink. Go home and take a bath. We can talk more later. I’ll unlock the Floo for you.”

 

Draco went to help Goyle to leave, trying frantically to think how to ask Potter about last night. This would be a perfect opportunity to get all the needed information and still make it in time to meet his father and Mr Greengrass.

 

When Goyle was gone, Draco turned and saw Potter reading the parchment Blaise had left on the table.

 

“So it was you?” Draco asked hesitantly.

 

“Hm?”

 

“You wrote that note. You were the one who brought me home and put Phil in the bathroom.”

 

“Yes, it was me. You really don’t remember a thing about last night?” 

 

“Not a thing after the drinking game started. Tell me, why do I have a pet who clearly hates me?”

 

Potter chuckled. “Phil doesn’t hate you. He’s just irritated at you. After all, you were the one who dropped him into the sea last night.”

 

Draco gaped at Potter. It seemed that Potter had quite a story to tell him about last night. Only one way to find out.

 

Draco slumped into the armchair and crossed his arms. “Start talking.”

 

“About what?” Potter had a teasing tone in his voice.

 

“About last night. About Phil. About Barcelona. About that bloody pineapple in my bed. Did I promise to marry you or something? I need to know, Potter. I have a meeting with my father and my future father-in-law in a few hours, and I need to know if I’m still a free man to continue my marriage contract negotiations.” Draco glared at Potter and noticed him swallowing nervously.

 

“Yes, of course. You are an adequate Legilimens, aren’t you? I remember hearing something like that.”

 

Draco nodded. “I am. Why?”

 

“I’m willing to allow you to see my memories from last night. It would be better for you to see for yourself what happened.”

 

“Reasonable enough. I’ve covered what happened at the Knotting Hill, but seems that only you know what happened after that.”

 

For the first time since this nightmare had begun, Draco felt excitement and relief at finally getting to know what really happened. What’s more, seeing it through Potter’s memories was more reliable than hearing about it. With Potter’s less than perfect articulation skills, so many details would probably go amiss that way.

 

“So… I’ll just bring forth the memories of last night after the club and you can begin.” 

 

Potter took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Concentration written all over his face and a small smile dancing on his lips, he was obviously recalling last night’s activities in his mind. Then he gave a faint nod, and that was Draco’s sign to begin the Legilimency session.

 

Draco took a moment to concentrate before diving into Potter’s mind. First thing he noticed, was that Potter knew his way in Legilimency rather well. He efficiently guarded some of his memories from Draco, but as far as Draco could see, they were of no importance for him. Those memories were not from last night.

 

Then, he hit the jackpot. 

 

_They left the club and walked around the corner, where Potter side-Apparated them to an unfamiliar flat._

 

_“Where are we, Barny? Err, Harry? You promised to take me to your house in Barcelona!”_

 

_“One minute, Draco, I need to fetch something first.” Potter released Draco’s arm, but Draco didn’t want to let go._

 

 _“Harreee…!” Draco whined_ \- and Draco almost gagged at hearing his own needy voice.

 

_“Just wait a second, Draco. We will need a Portkey to get there safely. Where did I put it… here! Okay, ready?”_

 

_Potter tugged Draco securely in his arms, and they both touched the Portkey at the same time. A few dizzying moments later they landed in a small garden filled with warm nightly scents of sea and various flowers._

 

_“Mmm, smells good,” Draco breathed against Potter’s neck._

 

_Potter chuckled. “Welcome to my home, Draco.”_

 

_“We’re in Barcelona?”_

 

_“Technically just outside Barcelona, but yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll show you the town as I promised. At least some of it. There’s too much to see in one night.”_

 

_Potter invited Draco inside the house, which was a two-storey house built of light brown stone. It wasn’t very large, nothing like Malfoy Manor, but it was cozy and inviting. Two bedrooms upstairs, kitchen and sitting room with a study downstairs, a lovely small inner court lined with pillars, plants and little trees, and a garden overlooking the Mediterranean sea. A stone path led down to a private beach, but it was too dark to actually see the beach._

 

_“Can I move in here with you, Harry?”_

 

_“Of course you can, if you still feel that way when you’re sober,” Potter said, chuckling._

 

_“Where is your tattoo shop? I want to see it first!”_

 

_“It’s down in the Gothic Quarter. We can go there first. Then I’m going to take you to breakfast at a lovely little cafe I know.”_

 

_Potter went back inside to fetch something, and when he returned, Draco was crouching on the ground near the garden gate._

 

_“Come look what I found, Harry!”_

 

_As Potter came closer, he saw Draco petting a white ferret, who was purring and pushing it’s head against Draco’s palm. “Isn’t it lovely, Harry? Can I keep it? I have never had a pet before! That’s it, this is my first pet. Is it a boy or a girl?”_

 

_Potter pet the animal, too, and carefully turned it around to see it’s gender._

 

_“I think it’s a boy.”_

 

_“Brilliant! Then I will name him... Phil! You can be his other father, Harry!” Draco exclaimed and lifted the ferret in his arms._

 

_“Be careful, Draco. The ferret may have fleas or something.”_

 

_“Nonsense! He’s clean. Can’t you see how white he is?”_

 

_Potter sighed, then chuckled and took them both in his arms for Apparating._

 

_“Okay, wiseguy, let’s go then.”_

 

_They entered a small dark shop located by a small town square. It was surrounded by massive Gothic buildings, so Draco guessed this was the Gothic Quarter. As Potter turned on the light inside the shop, Draco could see dozens of pictures of interesting tattoos on every wall. In the back of the room was the working area, where Potter introduced him to several fascinating instruments he used when tattooing someone._

 

_“I want a tattoo, Harry. Now. I want you to make me one,” Draco announced abruptly, putting Phil down on the floor to explore their new surroundings._

 

_“What? No, you can’t decide that when you’re so horribly drunk, believe me.”_

 

 _“No! I want a tattoo and I want you to make me one this instant!”_ \- and to his horror, Draco could see himself petulantly stomp his foot to make his point known.

 

_Potter sighed. “Okay then, I’ll make you a tattoo that is possible to remove if - and when - you wake up tomorrow and regret it. What kind of tattoo do you want?”_

 

_“I want a magical tattoo. I want something to remind me of you, Harry. I want something that reminds everyone of you!” Draco frowned as he tried to decide the pattern. “I know! The lightning bolt, I want a lightning bolt on my arse cheek. It will be the sign for everyone that I’m yours!”_

 

_“Uh… not the best place for a tattoo, especially if you want everyone to see it. How about a bit higher, on your back?”_

 

_“No. I want it on my arse. Stop arguing and just do it!” Draco stared at Potter defiantly, undid his trousers and let them drop around his ankles._

 

_Potter coughed nervously and gestured to the table where his customers laid during the tattooing. “Very well, let’s see what I can do about it.”_

 

_Draco settled down on the table and looked pointedly over his shoulder at Potter._

 

_“Arse cheek.”_

 

_“How about lower back?”_

 

_“Arse!”_

 

_“Lower back. If I do it on your arse, it will be too sore to sit or touch for a long time. You told me at the club that you wanted my hands all over you. That won’t happen if I put a tattoo on your arse.”_

 

_Draco was silent for awhile, contemplating._

 

_“Fine! But then you’ll make it a sentient tattoo, that no one but you or I can touch it. I want your mark on me, Harry.”_

 

_Potter agreed and began his work. His hands were gentle when he caressed Draco’s skin, finding a perfect place for the tattoo right above his tailbone. He worked with precise movements and without hesitation, and soon the tattoo was finished. He looked at it, evaluating, running his finger around the edges of the tattoo and adding a touch of magic into it. Then he brushed his hand over it._

 

_“How does it feel, Draco?”_

 

_“It’s finished already? It feels fine. Stings a bit, so you have to kiss it better.”_

 

_Potter chuckled and obediently leaned down and kissed the tattoo. Then his hand moved to caress Draco’s buttocks and he kissed them too for good measure._

 

_“Oh, that feels so good. I can feel the magic tingling straight into my cock. Harry, I want to fuck you, right now.”_

 

_“We have plenty of time for that after breakfast. Come on now, I’ll take you to my favourite cafe which serves the most delicious breakfasts in the city.”_

 

_Despite Draco’s grumbling, Potter helped him up and put his trousers back on. Then Draco fetched Phil and they headed out for breakfast._

 

_The cafe was located by another town square not very far from Potter’s tattoo shop. The sun hadn’t even risen yet, but the cafe was already open. There were only a few locals enjoying their early morning coffee._

 

_Potter, Draco and Phil sat outside at the table under a tree and enjoyed a peaceful early morning breakfast with cheese omelets, fresh fruit, toast and tea. Phil received his own meal in a bowl placed under the table._

 

_“I want a Devil’s Orgasm for dessert,” Draco demanded when they had finished eating._

 

_“I don’t think they serve those drinks here,” Potter said, leaning back in his chair._

 

_“Then I’ll take champagne or Mimosa. They are good drinks for breakfast, and it’s still my birthday!”_

 

_“I think you’ve had enough drinks for the day.”_

 

_“I’m not drunk anymore! I just want something to keep me going, because I’m definitely not going to waste time sleeping today,” Draco argued._

 

_“I know how Devil’s Orgasm works, Draco. You don’t feel drunk, but you are drunk, believe me. The effects of the drink last much longer than any usual drinks. Sometimes people also lose their memory when drinking too many. But don’t worry, we are not going to go to sleep yet. I want to show you something.”_

 

_“Finally showing me what’s underneath your clothes?” Draco asked looking hopeful._

 

_“Well, we’ll see about that,” Potter grinned and tugged Draco and Phil up and along._

 

_They Apparated back to Potter’s house, which looked even nicer now in the morning light. The sun had risen and the whole place was bathed in the warm sunlight._

 

_All of a sudden, Potter dug two shrunken brooms out of his pocket, enlarged them and threw one of them to Draco. Then he mounted his broom and kicked himself up in the air, laughing in delight._

 

_“Come up and follow me!”_

 

_Then he sped up toward the sea. Draco followed hot on his heels, Phil tucked tightly under his arm. They raced to the open sea, laughing as they they soared, dodged, dove and then rocketed up, enjoying the freedom and wind whizzing in their ears. Eventually they slowed down and turned their brooms back to the shore._

 

_“I’m so hot, I need a shower!” Draco shouted._

 

_“Yes you are! I mean hot,” Potter shouted back grinning from ear to ear and turned his broom to dive down just as they reached his private beach. He flew straight into the water and after a few seconds appeared back on the surface and flew back up, dripping wet. He laughed raucously and urged Draco to do the same._

 

_“Great way to cool off quickly!”_

 

_Draco was up to the challenge and dove into the sea as well. Unfortunately he forgot that Phil had curled around his neck during their flying, and ferrets weren’t particularly happy about getting wet. When he appeared back to the surface and rocketed up in the air, Phil was clutching his face for dear life with his sharp claws. Draco was flying blind because of Phil, and Potter had to come help._

 

_Phil hissed and clawed them both as Potter released him from Draco’s face, and refused to go back to Draco anymore. Instead he rebelliously curled around Potter’s neck despite Potter being as wet as Draco, and angrily hissed at Draco._

 

_They flew back to the shore and smoothly landed on the beach._

 

_“Let me take a look at the wounds Phil caused you,” Potter said, reaching his hand to Draco’s face._

 

_“No, it’s okay. It was my own fault anyway,” Draco muttered, but Potter ignored his protest. He gently brushed the bloody claw marks with his fingers and then healed them with his wand. Then he dried their clothes with a charm._

 

_“Better now?” Potter asked and then kissed him._

 

_They kissed for a long time, languidly exploring each other’s mouths and enjoying the closeness. At some point Potter lowered them on the sand and Draco curled in Potter’s lap, continuing to kiss him sloppily even if his eyes were drooping from fatigue._

 

_“Take me to your bed, Harry, take me home,” Draco whispered against Potter’s neck._

 

_Potter kissed the top of his head and gathered him and Phil into his arms, Apparating them back to the house. There Potter grabbed two items from the kitchen counter, and in a moment they arrived at Draco’s flat._

 

_Draco was already asleep, when Potter carried him to the bed. Then he carried Phil to the bathroom, and before closing the door, whispered to Phil, “Be a good boy, Phil. No more clawing Draco, all right?”_

 

_Then Potter came back to Draco’s bed, tucked him in and placed a pineapple on the pillow next to Draco’s head. Then he kissed Draco on the lips and whispered, “The pineapple will bring you back to me. Sweet dreams, Draco.”_

 

_After leaving the note on the kitchen table, Potter left the flat._

 

Draco pulled himself out of Potter’s head and frowned. The time spent with Potter last night had been really wonderful and he had enjoyed every minute of it, he could tell, even if he didn’t remember a thing about it. But now that he had seen Potter’s memories of it, he couldn’t help but wish he could get it back. However, that wasn’t an option for him. He had responsibilities to fill for his family and a promise to keep to his father.

 

Potter opened his eyes, looking a bit dazed, and smiled tentatively. His smile died on his lips, though, when he noticed Draco’s serious expression.

 

“We didn’t have sex last night, did we?” Draco asked bluntly.

 

“No, we didn’t.”

 

“Why? You could have taken advantage of me easily. I certainly seemed to be willing,” Draco scowled.

 

“You don’t know me very well, do you? I don’t take advantage of people who are too drunk to even remember it afterwards,” Potter said angrily. “Now, if you’re quite finished with this, I have a lot to do somewhere else.”

 

“No, wait! Did I propose to you last night, or make any other commitments? It’s important. Please,” Draco asked, feeling a bit ashamed of his behaviour. Potter hadn’t done anything wrong last night, quite the opposite.

 

“No, you didn’t, if you don’t count your announcement to move in with me. I don’t hold you responsible for anything you did or said last night. As I said, you were drunk and I’d be a fool if I believed any of it was true. Just… just let me know when you want your tattoo to be removed. I’ll stay in London until Friday. Now, have a good day, Malfoy. I believe you have a marriage contract to save.”

 

With that Potter left, slamming the door behind him, leaving both Draco and Phil staring after him. Draco sat dumbfounded in his chair, wondering what the hell was going on. Everything seemed to be finally go well for him, and yet he felt disappointed. It was as if a perfect Christmas gift had just slipped from his grasp. 

 

After a moment he stood up and went to get himself ready for the meeting. Like Potter had said, he had a marriage contract to save, after all.

 

TBC


	6. The Marriage Contract

Draco arrived at the Manor just before dinner.They were expected at the Greengrasses right after dinner. However, no matter how urgent the issue was at the moment, no one talked about the marriage contract at the dinner table. Lucius and Draco had to respect Narcissa’s rule that business had no room at their meals.

 

After an awkward dinner, Lucius and Draco retreated to Lucius’ study to discuss the situation.

 

“I assume that you have solved the problem, Draco?” 

 

“Yes, I have, Father.”

 

“And?”

 

“Pansy can confirm that the whole article in the Prophet was false.”

 

“Very well. I shall ask her if necessary. You are absolutely sure that there won’t be any other repercussions from your party?”

 

“There won’t, I swear.”

 

“I hope I don’t need to remind you about the importance of your marriage with Miss Greengrass and how it can’t meet any hindrance. We need their good name and reputation. If we succeed in finalizing your marriage contract, you will be well on your way to being the youngest member of Wizengamot in the near future. You will also be seriously considered for the future Minister for Magic, if you play your cards right, Draco. It will be in your hands to finally get the Malfoy name the honour it deserves.”

 

“Yes, Father,” Draco said obediently, even if he wasn’t so certain that it was the future he wished for himself.

 

“Come along, son.” Lucius gathered some papers from his desk and approached the Floo. With trepidation, Draco followed right after him.

 

They stepped out of the Floo into a study that closely resembled Lucius’ study from where they had just left. Mr Greengrass was already waiting for them, impatiently pacing back and forth in front of his large desk.

 

“You’re late, Malfoy,” he grumbled.

 

“We agreed to meet after dinner, and now is after dinner. We’re not late. Here’s the contract draft we discussed last time, and I’m ready to accept it. My solicitor…” Lucius didn’t get to finish his sentence as Mr. Greengrass interrupted him harshly.

 

“I’m not ready to accept the contract yet. Your son’s inexcusable behaviour caused me to re-think my decision, and the terms of the contract are not sufficient. You should know, Mr. Malfoy, that scandals cost money.”

 

Draco glared at the pompous wizard with contempt; this man was trying to earn more money from the marriage contract just because Draco had made one mistake the previous night! A quick glance toward his father revealed that Lucius was getting angry as well.

 

“Mr. Greengrass, the article in the Prophet this morning was absolutely false. We have a reliable witness who is willing to prove it to you if necessary,” Lucius pointed out.

 

“And who is the witness, may I ask?”

 

“Pansy Parkinson. She was there last night when Rita Skeeter intruded into my party,” Draco explained.

 

“Ah, Miss Parkinson. I believe she would say anything to get you out of trouble, young man. She’s your friend, isn’t she?”

 

“How dare you doubt her sincerity, Mr Greengrass! She’d voluntarily take Veritaserum if necessary. She’s not afraid to tell the truth!” Draco gritted through his teeth.

 

“Especially if the truth benefits her friends. No, young man, I will not accept your witness. I need more proof or more compensation in the contract until I agree to give away my precious daughter to an irresponsible young man like you.”

 

“Give away, hah! You’re trying to sell her, that’s what this is, and you are taking every advantage to get more money for her. You are absolutely ‘the father of the year’ material, Mr. Greengrass,” Draco snarled, the frustration finally becoming too much. He had done everything he could to repair every single mistake he’d done last night, and it still wasn’t enough!

 

“Draco, behave! I think you better go outside for a while to calm down. I can continue this discussion with Mr. Greengrass for a while. Come back in when you have calmed down.” Lucius’ voice was firm. He wouldn’t listen to any arguments from Draco now.

 

“Fine! I’ll step out to get some air. I will come back shortly.” Draco nodded curtly and left the room.

 

He knew the house quite well from his previous visits, and quickly found his way to the garden. He wandered down to the pond taking deep breaths and trying to get his anger under control.

 

Why was he so angry in the first place? He had always known how things were handled between the Pureblood families and by Pureblood traditions. In Pureblood families you didn’t marry for love, but for allegiance. It all came down to gaining more power and influence by uniting old family lines, wealth, connections and allies, and then creating together the next generation that would continue the traditions.

 

He knew all this and had accepted it long time ago. However, now he started to doubt that maybe he wasn’t ready to step into his role yet, after all. He hated the way their fathers discussed their union as a business arrangement, not as a life-long commitment with children which Draco and his future wife had to live through.

 

It was too late to back out now, Draco knew that. He had his pride and his family’s name to save with this marriage, and fortunately Astoria wasn’t that bad to get along with. Maybe they could come to a mutual agreement for how to make their marriage work. First, though, they had to seal the contract with his greedy father-in-law-to-be. Draco sighed and squared his shoulders. He had to go back to the meeting. There was no way around it.

 

“Draco?” A soft voice asked behind him. Draco turned around and noticed Astoria approaching him. 

 

“Hello, Astoria. I have a meeting with your father. Just came out here to get some air.” Draco didn’t know why he was explaining anything to Astoria, but somehow he needed to say it out loud.

 

“That bad?” Astoria shook her head and frowned. “Draco, I need to talk with you. It’s important.”

 

“Can it wait until the meeting is over?”

 

“I think it would be best if we talked right now. Come and sit with me, would you?”

 

A bit reluctantly Draco followed Astoria to the gazebo near the pond. They sat down in the comfortable chairs, and Draco waited impatiently for Astoria to start saying whatever it was that was bothering her. However, Astoria didn’t seem to be in any hurry; she wrung her hands in her lap, obviously trying to find the right words.

 

“Astoria?” Draco gently prodded.

 

“I’m sorry, Draco, I just don’t know how to say this. The last thing I want is to hurt you or your family in any way,” Astoria sighed and kept her eyes downward.

 

“It can’t be that bad. Does it have something to do with the marriage negotiations?”

 

“Well, yes. I have tried to get my father to listen to me, but he’s stubborn. I know this is a lot to ask, but do you think it would be possible to postpone the negotiations?”

 

“May I ask why? Don’t you want to get married? Or is it me you don’t want to get married to?” Draco asked, bewildered. Astoria had never before mentioned anything about any doubts.

 

“No, it’s not you, I swear. I do like you, and I think we could make the marriage work. The problem now is that… I’ve met someone. I don’t know if it's going anywhere, but I’d like to see how it goes. I’ve tried to make my father understand, but he refuses to listen.” Astoria finally turned to look at Draco, and her eyes glistened with tears.

 

“Is that what you really want? To postpone the negotiations? Or do you actually want to cancel the contract altogether?” 

 

“I don’t know!” Astoria cried out. “I just met someone I’m really attracted to, and if the Prophet is to be believed, so have you. Don’t you feel this marriage is happening too fast? Too early? I’m 23 and this is the first time I’ve ever felt this way. How am I supposed to know what I want? I just know that I need to find out what this means.”

 

Draco was quiet for a long time. He needed to think. Actually, he had nothing against postponing the marriage, but how would their fathers react to this? Then he remembered how aggressive Mr. Greengrass had been about Draco’s mistakes from the previous night, and his temper flared. That manipulative old man had known about the trouble his own daughter was causing for the negotiations, and yet he tried to put all the blame on Draco and earn more money from it.

 

“Very well, I’ll see what I can do. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Draco said forcing himself to speak in a calm voice, and stood up. “I have to speak with my father. See you later, Astoria.”

 

Then he went back inside, heading back to the study. He was halfway there when he met his father. Lucius looked utterly frustrated.

 

“Come on, son, we’re leaving,” he said in a clipped tone.

 

“What about the marriage contract?” Draco asked, trying to keep up with his father.

 

“That man is impossible. No reason to stay here any longer.”

 

“Wait, Father, I found out something that might help us to deal with the man. I just met Astoria, and she…” Draco told Lucius everything he had talked about with Astoria. He watched as Lucius’ expression turned from frustrated to grim as he listened to his son.

 

“Now, that changes everything. Thank you, Draco. I believe we have a contract to cancel. Come along, son.”

 

Lucius turned on his heel and marched back to the study, where Mr. Greengrass was enjoying a drink looking very pleased with himself.

 

Lucius went directly to the desk, snatched the contract parchment from under Mr. Greengrass’ nose and ripped it in two.

 

“Wh… what are you doing, Malfoy?” Mr. Greengrass stuttered, clearly stunned at Lucius’ behaviour.

 

“You had a good contract already approved, but then you turned greedy. I’m afraid our agreement is officially cancelled.” Lucius turned his cold glare at the confused man and his voice changed to freezing. “How dare you try and take advantage of my son’s mistake, when your own daughter has already pleaded with you to cancel the marriage because of her own love affair. If this is how you handle things in your own household, I certainly don’t want anything to do with it. Good day, Mr. Greengrass.”

 

With his robes dramatically billowing around him, Lucius strode out of the study, Draco following close behind. He was proud of his father and the way he had handled the situation. They were the winners of the game Mr. Greengrass had created to get them on their knees. Now they had the upper hand if they ever wanted to come back to negotiate the marriage contract again.

 

“Such a pity that Greengrass destroyed his chances to have a good contract for his daughter. Good thing that you heard about the real situation in time, Draco. Greengrass would have been a good ally if only he’d have been more patient and less greedy. Don’t worry, this is not the end. Now we’ll only have to find another Pureblood witch from a good family.” Lucius said as they had returned back to the Manor and to his study. He leaned back in his chair in front of the fireplace, sipping his drink and looking pensive. 

 

“We are not in a hurry, Father. If word gets out that our negotiations have been cancelled and we are already looking for a new candidate for marriage, that only makes us look desperate. Let’s take our time and see how it goes,” Draco suggested.

 

“You’re probably right, son. We still have time. With careful planning we can make an even better contract than the one we would have had with Greengrass.”

 

Draco left Lucius alone to plan and returned to his own flat. His head was spinning. His well-planned life had turned upside down all of a sudden and he didn’t know what to think of it. His mind was on overdrive and he desperately wanted a drink, but remembering all too well his previous problems and what had caused them, he decided to make tea instead.

 

He was sitting in his favourite armchair sipping his tea and suspiciously eyeing Phil, who had curled against his feet and was purring in his sleep. The beast was obviously planning something evil for Draco, and was trying to lull him into thinking he was perfectly safe.

 

Just then his Floo flared and Blaise’s head appeared in the flames.

 

“Hi Draco, may I come in?”

 

“By all means. Since when have you asked permission to enter my home?” Draco quipped, but didn’t make any move to stand up to greet his friend.

 

Within seconds Blaise was standing in his sitting room brushing soot from his shoulders.

 

“Ah, tea. Any chance I can have a cup too?”

 

“Of course. The kettle is in the kitchen. Go help yourself.” Draco knew he wasn’t the best of hosts right now, but Blaise just had to deal with it.

 

Soon Blaise had his own cup of tea in his hands and he sat on the sofa across from Draco.

 

“So, you have finally made a truce with Phil?” 

 

Phil opened his eyes upon hearing his name, but other than that, didn’t move away from Draco’s feet.

 

“I don’t know. He hasn’t tried to kill me lately, if that’s what you mean. However, I’m sure he’s planning something right now. No one can look so innocent without a hidden agenda.” Draco scowled at Phil, but the affection he had started to feel towards his little beast took the edge of the scowl.

 

“Come on, Draco, give him a chance. He obviously likes you. You two just had a bad start for the day. Look how he doesn’t even come to greet me, even if we were best of friends earlier today!” Blaise grinned, not seeming to be upset about Phil’s ignorance.

 

“We’ll see. I don’t trust him yet, that’s all. So, what brings you here?”

 

“Just curious. How did it go with Greengrass today?” 

 

For some reason Draco noticed Blaise avoiding his eyes and frowned.

 

“Is something wrong, Blaise?”

 

“No, no, everything is just fine. Astoria Floo-call…” Blaise’s mouth snapped shut as if he’d said too much, and he jumped to his feet, facing away from Draco.

 

“What has Astoria got to do with it? Blaise?” Draco asked sharply. “She Floo-called you? Why?”

 

Blaise sighed but didn’t turn around.

 

“ I’ve been keeping in touch with Astoria lately. She’s been… worried.”

 

“Worried about what? Our marriage? Spill it, Blaise,” Draco commanded. “How long?”

 

Blaise sighed again, and this time he returned to the sofa, sitting down and facing Draco.

 

“Well, we started to talk at your New Year’s party and since then we have been keeping in touch. Only as friends, at least until recently. She needed someone to talk to, and I was willing to listen. She’s quite a fascinating witch and we have enjoyed each other’s company. She’s been worried about your marriage contract and her father’s attitude for months now.”

 

“If she was worried, why didn’t she talk to me instead? Really, Blaise, how could you do that to me? You are my friend, and yet you fooled around with my fiancé behind my back! Wait a minute, was Astoria that someone in your flat this morning when you didn’t let me in?”

 

Draco was furious. Of course he felt possessive about Astoria, but he was more upset about Blaise betraying him. 

 

“Yes, she was in my flat this morning, and we spent the night together,” Blaise said defiantly. “And she wasn’t your fiancé yet, not until the contract would have been finalized, anyway. Now, according to her, the contract is cancelled, so no harm done, right?”

 

“But what if the contract would have been finalized today? Then you’d have been shagging my future wife, and that’s inexcusable! What were you thinking, Blaise? Doesn’t our friendship mean anything to you?” Draco raised his voice and scared Phil, who jumped to his feet and scurried to the bedroom.

 

“Oh, come on, Draco! It’s not as if you loved her or anything. You couldn’t expect her to be a virgin in the first place!”

 

“She wasn’t?”

 

“Of course not! Didn’t you know that she had a boyfriend last year? A real boyfriend who shagged her silly all the time. She knows what she wants, and she didn’t want an arranged marriage. I like her very much and she feels the same for me. When she suggested staying the night, how could I refuse her?”

 

“So… you are the one. The someone she said she had met and wanted to see how it would go?” Draco was stunned. He would have never even in his wildest dreams thought that Blaise would have an affair with his bride-to-be. 

 

“I’m afraid I am her someone, and I’m not sorry. Draco, she might be the right one for me. Please, don’t make this any more difficult for her. It’s not her fault.”

 

“I know,” Draco said, rubbing his face tiredly. “Please, leave me alone, Blaise. Go home. We’ll talk more later, all right?”

 

Blaise agreed quickly and left. Draco sat in his armchair well into the night. He didn’t even notice when Phil jumped in his lap and started purring in his own peculiar way. Absently Draco petted him, for the first time really appreciating his new pet and his comforting presence.

 

TBC


	7. What Happens in Barcelona...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are, time to wrap up the story.  
> Big thanks to everyone who have followed the story and who have left such lovely comments, I appreciate every one of them very much!  
> Now, time to face the music, Draco...

**Chapter 7: What happens in Barcelona…**

 

For five days Draco sulked. He had locked his Floo, not wanting to speak to anyone, not even his parents. He didn’t accept any Owls and didn’t answer the door no matter how incessant the pounding. He hadn’t even bothered with dressing for the day, lounging all day in his pyjamas in his bed or sofa, Phil curled on his chest. 

 

Draco knew that his behaviour was childish and his friends were worried about him, but he couldn’t care less. He had every right to be upset and sulk, and besides, that would teach Blaise a lesson not to touch anything that belonged to Draco, no matter if Draco wanted the thing for himself or not.

 

He didn’t spare one thought for Astoria; she had made her choice. However, it stung a bit that Astoria had chosen Blaise over Draco, and that was one more reason to punish Blaise a bit more.

 

Actually, it felt rather nice to be alone, not having anyone to disturb them, or to listen to anyone making demands or wanting something from him. Just the two of them together, Phil and him. Over the period of Draco’s sulking time Phil had developed the habit of sleeping in Draco’s bed, usually on his chest or back. They got along really well now, and Draco could see why everyone was so fond of Phil in the first place. The ferret was friendly, playful and compassionate, just what Draco needed right now. Just like Draco, Phil also had a bad temper if anything went wrong; Draco had seen it painfully clearly after the night he spent in Barcelona. Last time Phil protested when Draco offered him food he didn’t approve of. Draco had barely avoided Phil’s sharp teeth as the ferret snapped and hissed at him in irritation, and then marched into the bathroom, crawled under the drawer and sulked for hours.

 

Draco had just drifted off on his sofa, Phil comfortably sleeping on his chest, when they were abruptly awoken from their peaceful rest by a sharp slap on the top of Draco’s head. They both jerked upright, Phil hissing and showing his teeth, and Draco complaining, “Ouch! What the…? Pansy? What are you doing here?”

 

“It’s about time I came over, you stupid prat! Why haven’t you been returning any of our owls or calls? We’ve been worried sick!” Pansy screeched much too loudly to Draco’s liking. Draco winced and covered his ears.

 

“Please, Pansy, be quiet! How did you get inside in the first place? All the entrances were locked and warded!”

 

“You forget, my dear, that I’ve always known how to get past your wards. As for your locks, I have Goyle for that.” Pansy looked so smug that Draco’s irritation grew worse. Then he noticed an awkward looking Goyle standing by the door which was now hanging off of it’s hinges and looking quite smashed.

 

It took only one dark look from Draco for Goyle to retreat hastily to the door and mutter, “I’ll fix it right now.”

 

Pansy, on the other hand, had taken a seat in Draco’s favourite armchair, elegantly crossed her legs, and was now looking at Draco expectantly.

 

“Now, my dear, you will tell me everything. Don’t worry, I know about Astoria and Blaise already, so you don’t have to discuss that if it’s too painful for you.”

 

“What? How do you know about it? Oh, Blaise told you, of course.”

 

“No, I didn’t need Blaise to tell me anything. I found out that it was Astoria whom Blaise was meeting after your party, and then it only took some well-placed manipulation to find out the rest. Believe me, my dear, that you’re better off without that two-faced bitch. She didn’t know what she lost when she started playing with Blaise. Well, it’s her loss. Now you’ll move on, so stop sulking and tell me what happened after you left my flat, what… five days ago?”

 

Pansy’s voice was demanding, and for once Draco didn’t want to argue with her. He knew he needed to talk about it, and talking with Pansy had always been the best way to see things straight. So Draco told her everything from arriving home to find Goyle and Potter on his doorstep, watching Potter’s memories from the night they’d spent together in Barcelona and what happened at the Greengrasses.

 

Pansy was quiet for a moment after Draco finished his story. Then she straightened her back and stood up, her hands on her hips, glaring at Draco.

 

“And you’re sulking why exactly? As far as I can see, you should be happy about this! You got rid of that deceitful bitch and you are free to have fun and explore more like your recent adventures have shown you clearly want to do. If you want to start immediately looking for a better wife candidate, the world is all yours. You should be happy!” Pansy exclaimed briskly. “Now, get off that sofa and take a bath. You stink. Then you’ll dress in your nicest clothes because I’m taking you out for lunch.”

 

“I don’t stink!” Draco protested, but Pansy wasn’t convinced.

 

“It’s either you or your pet. Now get into the bath before I call Goyle back to carry you there!”

 

“All right, just stop bossing me around! Keep an eye on Phil, he doesn’t like getting wet, so I’ll leave him here with you.”

 

“If you must, but I’m not going to touch that animal. Who knows where has it been.” Pansy eyed Phil with disgust.

 

Draco sighed and decided to take Phil with him after all. Phil could stay in his bedroom while he showered. That would be safer for the ferret. 

 

He barely had reached his bedroom door when Pansy asked, “So this is the pineapple you brought back…”

 

Draco whirled around to see Pansy reaching the pineapple, and threw himself to stop Pansy, but it was too late. Just when his hand reached the pineapple, she finished, “...from Barcelona?” At the same moment he felt a sharp tug in his belly and he, Phil and Pansy had left the building.

 

They landed in Potter’s garden, Pansy on her back on the ground and Draco on top of her. Phil hissed and jumped out of Draco’s arms, scurrying under a shrub to hide. Stunned, Draco sprawled on top of Pansy, who was obviously as stunned because she didn’t make a move to push Draco off of her.

 

“Oh, sorry, did I interrupt something?” Potter’s voice asked behind them.

 

That made Draco roll away from Pansy faster than any punch from Pansy would ever had. Cautiously he met Potter’s eyes as he scrambled to his feet and reached his hand out to help Pansy up too.

 

“Oh, I definitely did interrupt something, although I’d have thought a bed would be a more comfortable place for that kind of activity,” Potter said smirking and raising his eyebrows at seeing Draco’s clothing. Still in pyjamas. Of course. Draco couldn’t help blushing.

 

“Shut up, Potter. Pansy must have accidentally activated your Portkey. Was it triggered by time or password?”

 

“Both. If you used it on Friday, you had only to say ‘Barcelona’ and it’d bring you here. Obviously it worked. Were you planning to have a pyjama party with me? That can be arranged. Where’s Phil?”

 

Hearing his name being mentioned, Phil jumped out of his hiding place and started joyfully bouncing and dancing around Potter’s feet. Potter grinned at the ferret and lifted it in his arms. “There you are, Phil. Hello,” he cooed. Draco scowled at both of them as if they were the worst kind of traitors.

 

“Ahem,” Pansy cleared her throat. “I was going to take Draco out for lunch, but Barcelona was not what I had in mind. I’m not complaining, though. I know just the perfect restaurant here for lunch. Would you like to join me, Draco? Potter?”

 

Draco pointedly looked down at his clothing. “In pyjamas? Really, Pans, I don’t think so.”

 

Pansy shrugged. “Well, your loss. See you later then.” With that she left, Apparating herself to only Merlin knew where.

 

Draco stood awkwardly as if rooted in place, feeling embarrassed about his appearance. He was still in desperate need of a shower or bath, and looking dishevelled in front of Potter didn’t exactly improve his self-esteem.

 

Then Potter, always the Saviour it seemed, came to his rescue. “Let’s go inside. You look as if you could use some private time in a bathroom.”

 

Feeling ridiculously grateful, Draco followed Potter inside the house and to the second floor, where Potter showed him the bathroom. 

 

“Take your time, Draco. I’ll leave you some clothes here. I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready.”

 

Then he left and Draco went to investigate if Potter’s bathroom was worth a bath; he had standards after all.

 

He found some decent bath soap and shampoo which scent wasn’t anywhere near what he normally used. The combined scent of pinewood, grass and sea breeze was rather pleasant all the same, and Draco decided to give it a go.

 

After a long and thorough bath, Draco found the clothes Potter had left for him. Only a few slight modification spells were needed for the clothes to fit him perfectly, and satisfied at his reflection in the mirror he headed downstairs.

 

Potter was in the kitchen surrounded by delicious scents of lunch.

 

“Lunch is ready. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” Potter puttered around the kitchen, setting the table for two and checking the food cooking on the stove.

 

Draco stood in the doorway, gaping at the domestic sight. “You cook?”

 

“Sometimes. Nothing fancy, though. Spanish potato omelette today. Want to join me for lunch?”

 

Draco’s stomach growled so loudly that it made Potter look up and grin. “I take that as a yes. Come on, take a seat. I’ll get the food.”

 

They sat and ate without talking much during the meal. After they had finished eating and Potter cleared the table, Draco opened his mouth. “Thank you. That was… not bad. Where’s Phil? I think he needs to be fed, too.”

 

“Thank you, I’m glad you liked it. Phil is out in the garden. I left him a bowl of food there. We can take coffee out there and see what he has been up to.”

 

Draco agreed and soon they were sitting at the garden table, sipping their coffee and watching as Phil scurried around them, clearly excited at being back in the familiar garden.

 

Draco glanced at Potter who seemed to be enjoying the sunshine and while watching Phil’s antics.

 

“So you are not working today?”

 

“Nope. Decided to take the day off.”

 

“Have big plans for the weekend?”

 

“Not exactly. Just thought that you might come visit. Or come to remove your tattoo. It’s Friday after all and your Portkey was activated for today. How are your marriage plans going?”

 

“The marriage is off. No other plans yet.”

 

“I’m sorry to hear that. Want to tell me what happened?”

 

“Not particularly. It’s a long story anyway.”

 

“I have time.”

 

“Well, I don’t want to talk about it, all right? Leave it, Potter.” Draco was getting annoyed at Potter’s insistent curiosity. “I think it’s time for me to leave now. Thank you for lunch. Phil, come on, we’re going home.”

 

Draco stood up and called again for Phil, who all of a sudden decided to play hide and seek. 

 

“Draco. Don’t go.” Potter’s voice was soft and pleading. 

 

Draco turned to look at him, and the earnest look in Potter’s eyes made his stomach flutter. Potter stood so close that his scent wafted into Draco’s nose and just then Draco remembered. The scent awoke the arousal and yearning in his body, just like it had that night they’d spent together here in Barcelona, and the realization made Draco’s knees weak.

 

He couldn’t help himself and wrapped his arms around Potter and kissed him. Really kissed him. Like snogging the living daylights out of him. Potter made a delicious sound deep in his throat, and that sound went straight to Draco’s libido. His whole body was trembling from need as he devoured Potter’s mouth, and somewhere in his lust hazed mind he was sure that he’d embarrass himself soon by coming in his pants right there in the middle of Potter’s garden in the bright daylight.

 

Somehow that thought made him sober up and tear himself away from Potter. Only that wasn’t so easy when Potter was clinging to him just as tightly, and insistently kissing him back. It was a physical challenge for Draco to step back as he opened his eyes and noticed how enticing Potter looked standing in his embrace, eyes closed, cheeks flushed, and lips red and swollen from their frantic kissing. All he wanted to do was to go back to kissing him, but then he remembered again his thought of embarrassing himself. That wouldn’t do. His behaviour since his birthday party had been far from what he expected from himself - what everyone expected from a Malfoy. 

 

“I’m sorry, Potter. I think it’s better for both of us if I leave now.”

 

“Why? Did I do something wrong?” Potter was confused.

 

“No. It’s not you. It’s me. I’ve made a fool of myself enough as it is.”

 

“Nonsense. You’ve been perfect!”

 

Draco scowled. “Hardly. I’ve been acting ridiculous, ever since my birthday party, and now I’m a laughingstock for everyone. Including you.”

 

“Now you listen to me, Draco,” Potter said seriously and pulled Draco back in his arms. “You may need to act like a Pureblood aristocrat in front of your Pureblood society, but I liked how you acted with me when we were together. There’s a big difference at being ridiculous and having fun, and for me, you - _we_ \- were having a lot of fun. You can try to deny it all you want and say you didn’t have fun back then, but I enjoyed spending time with you. I enjoyed your company so much that I’d love to take you on another date, this time without Devil’s Orgasms, and see how much fun we’ll have then. I bet we’ll have plenty. So, what do you say? Will you go out with me today?”

 

Draco eyed him cautiously. “I… I don’t know. When I saw what happened in the Knotting Hill and your memories of that night, I didn’t recognize myself. What if that’s not who I really am?”

 

“But what if that’s exactly who you are, but you have never given yourself a chance to be the real you? I know that we have a connection, some sort of chemistry between us, and it would be a shame if we didn’t give it a chance. Come on, Draco, it’s Friday and you’re here, and this was supposed to be our next date. I say we should give it a go. What about you?” Potter’s eyes were pleading and his face so earnest that Draco melted.

 

“Maybe, just maybe, we should try it, once more, and if it doesn’t work, then we’ll part ways and never bother each other again, okay?”

 

“I can live with that,” Potter said and kissed him again.

 

Despite what Potter had said about his plans for the weekend, Potter had planned a perfect date for them and all Draco had to do was enjoy the ride. First they went down to the city for a tour where Potter showed him the Barcelona he loved the most. 

 

“I love all the markets here. There are big ones, small ones, and everything in between,” Potter explained as they wandered through an antique market which offered a lot of interesting items for Draco to examine. “If you stayed here over the weekend, you’d see a lot more markets which are open only weekends. For example, there’s a small but wonderful art market just around the corner from my shop. And in December there’s a great Christmas fair that you absolutely must see.”

 

Next they went to the food market, and Draco’s mouth watered at all the delicious scents surrounding them. They stopped by a small tapas bar in the middle of the market, and Potter let Draco choose from the wide selection offered there.

 

“You keep surprising me, Potter,” Draco admitted while they enjoyed their tapas and wine, occasionally dropping some pieces for Phil waiting under the table.

 

“Why is that? And please, would you finally start calling me Harry, just like everyone else?”

 

“I’m not everyone else, if you haven’t noticed,” Draco smirked. “All right, Harry. I just thought that you’d live here like a celebrity, enjoying your fame and having people waiting on you hand and foot.”

 

“Are you disappointed that I’m just an ordinary bloke? That I’m trying to live here in peace, far away from all the hassle around me every time I set my foot in Britain?” Harry asked, his shoulders stiffening.

 

“No, absolutely not! I’m just surprised. And maybe a bit envious that you are free to live your life as you like. I wish I could have the same choice.”

 

“At least you can feel free as long as you’re away from your usual circles. Forget your obligations for now and enjoy the day, all right?”

 

Obviously Harry was enjoying his day so thoroughly that it was contagious. Draco found the joy and excitement growing inside him, and as they wandered toward the next market, his hand found it’s way to Harry’s. They explored the book market where Harry led them next, hand in hand, admiring all kinds of books on display. Harry even purchased a Muggle book Draco had been very interested in, and as Harry handed it to him, Draco rewarded him with a quick peck on the lips. That made Harry beam and wrap his arm around Draco’s waist as they continued their exploring. Phil tried to get jealous and possessive of Draco at first because of their increased proximity, but after some cooing and bribing from Harry he finally settled on Draco’s shoulder and curled around his neck for a nap.

 

They had an early dinner in a small intimate restaurant in the heart of the Gothic quarter. Draco enjoyed his dinner with an exceptionally good appetite, something he hadn’t felt for ages, and he had to stop himself from forgetting all his manners and licking his plate clean. Harry didn’t order any dessert in the restaurant, promising him a perfect dessert on their way to the location where Harry wanted to crown their date.

 

They had walked a few blocks when Harry stopped at the street vendor and bought two cones of divine smelling pastries with chocolate sauce. 

 

“What are they?” Draco asked, leaning into his dessert and taking a deep breath of delicious scent. Even Phil craned his neck, trying to get a bite from Draco’s portion. Draco snatched his cone away from the greedy ferret.

 

“Not yet, Phil! I want to taste it first, and then, if there’s anything left, you may have a bite,” he growled.

 

“It’s called churros, and it is the best snack I’ve ever had here in Spain. Served with sweet sauce like chocolate it’s a perfect dessert. Come on, Phil, I’ll let you get some of mine.” Harry reached his hand toward Phil, who traitorously abandoned Draco and went for the treat. Draco scowled at Phil, but the delicious dessert soon made him forget Phil’s lack of respect for his master.

 

“What’s next?” Draco asked a bit later sucking the last remnants of churros and chocolate from his fingers.

 

“You still have energy for more? Alright then, I promised you a cable car ride, didn’t I?” Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and Phil, and Apparated them away.

 

“Where are we?” Draco asked when they landed in front of a modern looking building. 

 

“This is the cable car station to Montserrat Mountain. We are just in time for the last ride of the day,” Harry explained as he guided them inside the building.

 

“Hello, Carlos, how are you doing?” he greeted the smiling man at the gate leading to a dangerous looking gondola hanging from a sturdy cable. 

 

“Fine, Harry, everything’s fine. My son is doing much better now, thanks to you. Going up?”

 

“Yes, please. Just the ride up and then back down here. Do you think it would be possible for us to take a dive if we feel up to it?”

 

“You can have a car of your own. There’s not many passengers at this time of the day anymore, so no one will notice if you take a dive or not. Just let me know if you don’t get back to the car before it returns here.”

 

“I will. Thanks, Carlos. Come on, Draco, let’s get going before it becomes too dark.”

 

Taking Draco’s hand, Harry pulled them into the cable car and shut the door. Carlos started the cable car and Draco grabbed Harry’s hand tighter as the gondola started to move.

 

“Are you sure that this is safe?” he asked worriedly.

 

“It’s perfectly safe, I promise. We also have something that the Muggles do not: our brooms.”

 

Harry pulled two shrunken brooms out of his pocket and enlarged them. “We can always fly away if we decide to.”

 

“Now, tell me, what are we doing here?” Draco asked, his curiosity taking over.

 

“Well, this is one way to reach the Montserrat Mountain and the Monastery located in there, but in my opinion, this is the best way to go there. Just look at the view! Isn’t it amazing? This ride lasts only 5 minutes, but in that time we go almost a mile up the mountain. The mountain above the Monastery is a great place for hiking, and the Monastery itself is definitely worth visiting. It would take a full day to explore the whole place, so this time we will only take the ride up and come back down.”

 

“So you’ve been up here many times? You seemed quite familiar with that Carlos bloke down there.”

 

“Yeah, sometimes I like to come up and spend the whole day here. The Monastery is like a little village, and hiking up the mountain is one of the most relaxing things I’ve ever done. You should come with me sometimes.”

 

Draco watched out of the window and admired the view. It was breathtaking. Now, at the sunset, everything around them was bathed in the soft fading daylight. The mountain looked as imposing now from near as it had looked when they had started the ride, but not as intimidating anymore. 

 

“Mmm, I’d like that. Maybe someday I can come here again with you,” Draco said a bit dreamily.

 

They arrived at the Monastery, and the size of it made Draco gasp in wonder. It was huge. He wondered if one day would be enough to explore it all. The place looked absolutely interesting and somehow inviting, and Draco made a promise to himself to come back here someday.

 

They had barely started their ride back down when Draco remembered something. “What did you mean by the dive you talked about with Carlos?”

 

“Oh, yes, we better do it soon, if we want to do it at all. The best place for it is about halfway down. Did you bring a parachute for Phil?”

 

“What? No, of course not! I didn’t actually plan to come visit you today, remember? What is that dive, anyway?” Draco was getting worried again.

 

“I’ll just cast a sticking charm on Phil, just in case then. The dive is this,” Harry explained while casting the charm. Then he grinned at seeing Draco’s appalled expression when he opened the door, grabbed his broom and leaned backwards, falling out of the gondola and sinking down, out of sight. Draco couldn’t keep himself from shouting in alarm and grabbing his own broom, jumping after Harry, trying to fly fast enough to save him if needed.

 

Frantically he tried to look down to see where Harry had fallen, but in the rapidly falling darkness he could see nothing. Then, abruptly, he heard laughing next to him.

 

“It was great, wasn’t it? Feeling absolutely free, it’s exhilarating! I just love that feeling!” Harry flew closer to Draco, but seeing his face, his grin died on his lips. He barely managed to dodge the hex Draco cast at him, infuriated.

 

“You insufferable prat! You just couldn’t warn me, could you? No, you had to scare me almost to death, you idiot! Wait until I get my hands on you, you stupid stupid… umpf.” Draco’s yelling stopped as Harry swerved close to him, grabbed him around his neck and kissed him soundly on the lips. Then he turned his broom back up and toward the empty cable car.

 

“Can’t wait for you to get your hands on me, Draco!” he shouted, grinning over his shoulder and gesturing for Draco to follow him into the gondola.

 

Draco almost didn’t follow him, he was so angry, but when Phil tightened his grip around his neck, making his breathing difficult, he decided to go back to the gondola, just for Phil’s sake.

 

Once he was inside, he glared at Harry. “You are the most insufferable idiot I know, Potter!”

 

“I love you too, Draco,” Harry exclaimed cheerily and pulled him into his arms and kissed him. 

 

They were so consumed with kissing each other that they failed to notice that the cable car had stopped, until they heard a loud ‘ahem’ from the doorway. When they finally managed to tear apart from each other, they noticed Carlos standing by the door, waiting for them to finish snogging and come out.

 

Draco was embarrassed and flushed, but Harry only chuckled and patted Carlos on the shoulder, “Sorry about that, mate. Thanks for the ride!”

 

As soon as they got out of the station, Harry Apparated them back to his garden and pulled Draco into his arms again. The rush of adrenaline from their dive still singing in his ears, Draco crushed his lips to Harrys, who responded to it as roughly. The kiss was heated, arousing and insistent and it made Draco melt into it completely. They devoured each other’s mouths, exploring, nipping, their tongues touching sometimes with feather light caresses, sometimes with bruising force. Draco’s head was swimming in a haze and his arousal made his pants feel much too tight and uncomfortable. He wanted nothing more than to get rid of their clothes and feel Harry’s hot skin against his own. Harry seemed to have the same kind of thoughts as he pulled Phil off of Draco’s neck and dropped him to the ground, all the while moving them toward the house but never interrupting their frantic kissing.

 

They managed to get to the front stairs when they stumbled on something soft with extremely sharp nails and voice. “Draco! How dare you leave me here alone! Did you forget all about me?” Pansy’s screeching voice cut the air and cooled their heated action more efficiently than a bucket of ice cold water.

 

“Pans! Where have you been?” Draco asked a bit breathlessly.

 

_“Where have you been?”_ Pansy mocked. “I told you I’d take you out for lunch, and you didn’t want to join me. After lunch I came back here, but you had left. I’ve been waiting for you here for hours! I should have known that you’d abandon me as soon as Potter laid his eyes on you for the first time! For Merlin’s sake, Draco, is this how you treat your friends? First lock them up for the night in a shed and then forget them at your doorstep?”

 

“This is not my doorstep, Pans,” Draco tried to explain, but that only made Pansy angrier. 

 

“I’ll show you a doorstep, Draco!” Pansy attacked Draco kicking and clawing. 

 

Draco tried to wrap his arms around Pansy to restrain her, but her flailing hands were not so easily restrained. After he finally managed to get her under control with Harry’s help, Draco sported a split lip and a budding bruise on his cheek bone. 

 

“Stop being so difficult, Pansy - you’re overreacting,” Draco panted as Pansy tried still to struggle in their hold.

 

“Draco, don’t… you’re not helping,” Harry grunted as he obviously received a good hit from Pansy’s sharp elbow. 

 

They should have trusted Phil to save the day, because as soon as Phil came to the rescue and jumped on top of them all, settling on Pansy’s head and hissing fiercely, Pansy froze. “Please take that beast away from me, Draco, please, please, please…” she whispered, her eyes screwed tightly shut.

 

That calmed the situation instantly. Draco took Phil away from Pansy, and Harry ushered them all inside. “Come in, both of you. I think we all need to calm down. How about a cup of tea?”

 

Draco took Pansy to the sitting room while Harry prepared the tea in the kitchen. Draco cautiously glanced at Pansy, who still looked upset. “What’s the matter, Pans? You’ve been rather sensitive lately, at least more than usual. Is there something wrong?”

 

“Not exactly wrong, Draco, but I just… just can’t stand everything being out of control.”

 

“What do you mean ‘out of control’? Nothing is out of control, at least not anymore. Even the birthday party fiasco and the marriage contract are solved now.”

 

“I just don’t like that I can’t even count on you anymore, that’s all. Ever since you started meddling with Potter, you’ve become reckless. Before him, you’d have never locked me in a shed for the night or abandoned me in a foreign country. Not to mention having Portkeys abducting us abruptly to the other side of the world.”

 

Draco chuckled at Pansy’s irritated expression. “You’re just complaining because my life has become exciting and unpredictable over the past week, and you are still stuck with your own boring life. A bit jealous, are you?” 

 

Pansy threw a pillow at him. “I’m not jealous! I just don’t understand why Potter has such an influence on you. It’s been only two dates for you two so far!”

 

“You better get used to it, Pans. I rather like his influence on me,” Draco grinned and dodged another pillow thrown at him just as Harry arrived with a tea tray.

 

“Getting physical again, are you?” Harry handed them the tea mugs and then sat next to Draco on the sofa, wrapping his other arm around Draco’s shoulders. “Let me heal your previous injuries first, okay?” Then he cast a healing charm on Draco’s lip and cheekbone, gently caressing the healed skin with his thumb afterwards. Then Harry turned to look at Pansy.

 

“I’m sorry you were dragged here without your permission, Pansy, but I didn’t expect anyone other than Draco to use the Portkey. I have one more Portkey back to London, and you can have it if you want. I will manage until Monday when I can get more Portkeys.”

 

“Thank you, Potter. I’d like to get back home as soon as possible,” Pansy said stiffly.

 

“Let me get it for you then,” Harry said standing up and heading to his study. Soon he returned with a book and handed it to Pansy. “It will activate with a password, _charming_. It will take you in front of my flat in London, but I’m sure you can find your way home from there.”

 

Harry sat back down next to Draco at the same time as Pansy stood up and turned to leave. She turned by the door to look at Draco, her eyebrows raised. “Are you coming, Draco?”

 

Draco looked at Harry and saw an uncertain look in his eyes. “Would you like for me to stay here?”

 

“I’d love if you stayed, Draco,” Harry said softly.

 

“Then I’ll stay. See you later, Pans.”

 

“What? Draco, there won’t be another Portkey until Monday, you heard what Potter said!”

 

“So what? I don’t have any plans for the weekend anyway, so why shouldn’t I stay here and see what happens? Go home, Pans, I’ll see you after the weekend, all right?”

 

Pansy huffed in irritation, but then she shrugged. “Do what you want. Still reckless, I see.” Then she left.

 

After the door had closed after her, Harry turned to Draco. “Now, where were we? Oh yes…” And he kissed Draco so thoroughly that Draco’s toes curled. In mere seconds Draco was fully aroused again, and he couldn’t keep his hands off Harry any more than Harry could keep his hands off Draco. They tried to reach as much bare skin as possible, and in their haste to get there, they couldn’t care less if the buttons of their clothes flew around as they tore the other’s clothes open. 

 

Draco climbed into Harry’s lap, straddling him, and latched onto his pebbled nipple, sucking and laving it with his tongue. Harry moaned, threw his head back and grabbed Draco by his buttocks, kneading them in his hands. Draco rocked his hips and rubbed his bulging erection against Harry’s. He started to worry that he would come in his pants soon if Harry didn’t take this to his bedroom soon.

 

“Take me to bed, Harry, and this time _your bed_. Not mine as you did before, even if I wanted to stay here even then!” Draco panted and kissed him heatedly. Harry only nodded and Apparated them upstairs.

 

Draco didn’t even spare a look at Harry’s bedroom, and that was a first. Usually he was very interested in his surroundings, especially when it came to furnishing and decoration. Now he cared only about the fact that Harry’s bed was big enough for them to roll around without having to worry about falling. 

 

After they had managed to get rid of the rest of their clothes, Draco rutted shamelessly against Harry, trying impatiently to get more friction for his aching cock. He could feel Harry smiling against his neck.

 

“Let me get the lube.” It took only one moment for Harry to roll off of Draco and reach for the nightstand, but Draco felt the need to protest loudly and haul him back on top of him.

 

“Don’t you dare leave me now,” he growled in Harry’s ear before he bit down on his shoulder.

 

Harry chuckled, but then let out a howl as Draco bit him even harder. “All right! I wouldn’t even dream about leaving you, I promise!”

 

Draco rolled them over so he ended on top of Harry, and then dragged his lips and teeth down Harry’s body. He kissed and nipped his way down to Harry’s crotch, before wrapping his lips tightly around Harry’s cock. 

 

“Mmm… so good. Such a… wicked mouth you have… shit, I’m going to come…” Harry panted, and then complained as Draco took his mouth away.

 

“Why did you stop?”

 

“I want you to come when I’m inside you. Lube?”

 

Harry handed him the lube. “You want to top?”

 

Draco glanced at him briefly as he squeezed some lube onto his palm. “Is that a problem?”

 

“Absolutely not, I don’t mind either way.”

 

“Good. Now...if you’ll just…” Draco hummed approvingly as Harry lifted his legs and spread them more to give Draco better access. He prepared Harry as quickly as he could, because he was in desperate need of release, too. When he couldn’t hold back anymore, he lined up his cock against Harry’s entrance and hoarsely asked, “Ready?”

 

Harry’s half-lidded eyes met his and Harry nodded. “Please.”

 

Draco started to slowly push his cock inside, barely able to keep himself from coming as Harry’s tight entrance welcomed him in it’s snug heat. He had to take a minute to compose himself after he was fully sheathed before he could start thrusting, going slow and shallow first. Harry urged him to go faster and deeper, but he wanted this to last longer.

 

Soon it became too much, and as he leaned down to kiss Harry, he breathed against his lips, “Can’t keep it slow anymore. Have to let go.”

 

“Do it! Ahh...do it hard!” Harry panted, and Draco did as he was told. He slammed into Harry with such force that he made the headboard hit the wall, but Draco didn’t care. He hardly even noticed it, he was too far gone by now.

 

His thrusts were deep and ruthless, but Harry didn’t give him any slack either. Harry met his thrusts with equal force, and after a few more thrusts Draco could feel Harry climaxing, his channel gripping around his cock like a vice. That triggered Draco’s own orgasm, making him throw his head back and tumble over the edge with a sharp cry.

 

Trembling and gasping for air, Draco collapsed on top of Harry, not caring if he crushed him or not with his weight. At least Harry didn’t complain so Draco assumed he was fine with it. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and caressed his back and sides softly.

 

“Wow, that was… amazing,” Harry finally managed to speak.

 

“Yeah. It definitely was worth staying here,” Draco grinned and earned a slap to his bum from Harry.

 

“Any more smug remarks and I’ll return the favour by topping you,” Harry dared, and Draco decided it best to silence the prat by kissing him so thoroughly that he’d forget such a ridiculous idea.

 

They spent the weekend mostly in bed or playing with Phil in the garden. Phil refused to stay long inside the house, and as long as he received his food in time, he seemed to be content. Draco was content, too. For the first time in his life he could forget all the demands and obligations required of him, and just focus on loving and being loved just the way he truly was.

 

On Monday, after the wonderful weekend with Harry, Draco returned home with a smile on his face. He was determined to make it work between him and Harry, no matter the distance. This was too good to be wasted just because of one tiny petty obstacle such as living in different countries. There had to be a solution for that, and Draco would find it.

 

_Six months later:_

 

Draco’s eyes followed two men who were mingling in the crowd of Malfoy’s New Year’s party. Lucius had announced his son’s and Harry Potter’s engagement a while ago, and now he was introducing his future-son-in-law to his friends and associates with a smug smile on his face. 

 

Things hadn’t been so easy when Draco had first told his parents about his plans to marry Harry. Lucius had been appalled and refused to even listen to him at first. Narcissa, on the other hand, had been delighted, and soon she had managed to get Lucius to see the bright side of the marriage. 

 

Another row had occurred, when Harry had refused to let Lucius plan their life ahead for them. Lucius had wanted to force Draco and Harry to take respectable positions high in the hierarchy of the Ministry, so some of the fame and glory would also benefit Lucius and his business. Harry had been adamant at keeping his own lifestyle as it was, and have Draco by his side, free to choose what he wanted to do without his father pushing him. Harry would support him whatever he decided to do. For Draco’s freedom, Harry had sacrificed his own privacy, and promised Lucius the privilege to brag as much as he wanted of being the father-in-law of the ‘Boy Who Lived’ and promising to participate in really important functions where Lucius needed him. 

 

This was one of those functions, and Draco could already see how his father preened under the envious stares of his associates. Things would go quite smoothly for Lucius from now on, Draco thought. His eyes met Harry’s for a brief moment, and they shared an amused smile.

 

Pansy waved for him from the other side of the ballroom, smiling from ear to ear. She had accepted Harry quickly after their adventurous Portkey ride, and after she had seen how happy Draco was with Harry.

 

Then Draco noticed Blaise and Astoria approaching him, both wearing wide smiles on their faces.

 

“Congratulations, mate!” Blaise hugged him in manly style and patted him on the back. Astoria reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek and congratulated him in a more subtle way.

 

“So, when are you going to move back to the Manor? Your father told us that you would,” Blaise asked. “Hard to believe that, considering who you will marry.”

 

“Sweet Merlin, no! We are not going to move here, at least not in the near future. Our home is in Barcelona, and when we are in London, we will stay in my flat.” Draco was annoyed at his father’s manipulation.

 

“I think it’s just your father’s wishful thinking,” Astoria said soothingly.

 

“I sure hope so. I need to talk to him about sharing his thoughts with everyone,” Draco growled. “So, how are your wedding plans going on?”

 

“Better now that we finally agreed on the terms of our marriage contract,” Blaise grinned. “Astoria’s father is a tough negotiatior.”

 

“Don’t I know it,” Draco grinned and slapped Blaise on the shoulder. “Good luck with that.”

 

Blaise and Astoria moved forward in the crowd, and Draco smiled at remembering how Mr. Greengrass had tried to continue their marriage contract negotiations. Draco wasn’t interested any more because of Harry, and Lucius couldn’t turn his head. Then Mr. Greengrass had finally listened to his daughter and allowed Blaise to start negotiating for his and Astoria’s marriage contract. Blaise had told Draco that Mr. Greengrass had to settle for much less money from the contract than he’d have earned from the Malfoys, and had been very unpleased. However, the word about Draco refusing to continue the negotiations, and Blaise being interested in marrying Astoria, had made all the other Pureblood families back off, and so Mr. Greengrass had been forced to accept Blaise’s conditions. Needless to say that Lucius had been gloating.

 

Draco jumped as arms wrapped around his waist from behind. “I’m beginning to think that eloping is our best chance to survive the wedding,” Harry’s voice murmured in his ear. “Your father is insatiable for attention.”

 

“I can think of another kind of insatiableness when thinking about my fiancé,” Draco grinned and gave a quick peck on Harry’s lips. Then he kissed him again, this time more deeply, just because he could. “Come along, love, I know a perfect place where we can be alone for a while.”

 

Harry’s eyes brightened, and Draco couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He was happy and not afraid to show it in front of everyone. Ever again.

 

The End


End file.
